Wish Upon a Dead Star
by confidentialname
Summary: She's at her peak, striving for to be known. Knowing that the truth is brutal. Growth, painful. Another end; another story. Hiding in fear, but rising in power. Watch these enemies share the same burdens throughout. Fighting each other ruthlessly, yet wondering why, all the same. They grow together even if they don't realize it. Will they come face to face as paths cross?
1. Thanks Uta

I

 _Thanks, Uta_

"Thanks, Uta. I really appreciate what you've done over the years for me, but isn't this a bit too much?" Korua asked as she saw the mask Uta made her.

As she was going to put it on her face to see if it suited her, the door opened, leading to the sound of bells. Like a second nature, she slid across the tile floor, soundlessly, and hid, not wanting to be seen or known. She'd done this every time a customer came, ghoul or not, for the past two years, so Korua easily swept under the radar as the two people came in.a One was a girl, purple haired. Korua was easily taller than her, though they seemed to be the same age. Korua had seen her several times, so Korua suspected Purple-Hair was a ghoul. However, this time she brought someone new. A scrawny, black-haired boy, who seemed a little bit taller than her. She could just tell he reeked of inexperience and innocence. Korua immediately hated him. She also hated Purple-Hair, but it took a few visits and observing; she never told anyone. Especially Uta.

"Hey, Uta," Purple-Hair said. "I got someone who needs a mask and you're obviously the right man for it,"

Korua chuckled softly at that, clutching the mask Uta just gave her, feeling especially close to it even though she's never worn it in a fight yet. Korua trusted Uta like she would of a big brother, and she felt that way since the moment they met, two years ago on a dark, winter night.

The street lamp gave the graffitied alley a dark, ominous feel, but that feeling was familiar to Korua. She was wrapped in a wool sweater she took from a person she killed a couple days back. There were some blood stains, but it looked well enough to be part of the wool sweater design. Looking at the piece of paper one of her few friends, she checked it once more to see if it was the right address.

"HySy… ArtMask Studio…?," Korua looked at the sign next to a door on the side of a vandalized brick wall, sporting a motorcycle, realizing that was the entrance to HySy.

"Hey, is anyone here? I was wondering if this was HySy ArtMask Studio?" She said to the store, ready to sprint out the door if things went wrong.

A single man came out, obviously tired, but also curious. His eyes portrayed a ghoul's but didn't seem to act like a regular ghoul eye would. "Uhh yeah this is HySy if you can read, then you should tell from the sign outside,"

"Well, I was coming if I could ask for any help…" Korua didn't know what to say. She never thought she would actually make it this far. Scratching her head, Korua said. "I'm looking for some shelter. I don't have anywhere to go, and I come from the 24th Ward," the man (probably in his early twenties, maybe late teens) caught on and brought her in, hastily, but quietly. He also brought her a chair to sit on, while he sat on one of the mask podiums.

"So, you're a ghoul too? But you're from the 24th Ward? Heard there was a lot of cannibalization going on there," he said.

"Well you heard right… " Korua replied, not mentioning that she has been eating other ghouls for quite some time. She took off her glasses and wiped the smudge from them.

"So you're on the run? Well that would be reasonable for someone your age _and_ from the 24th Ward… " he was practically talking to himself by now.

"Yeah, I guess so… But moving on, my friends said the store manager, and I'm guessing you, was nice enough and that I might have a chance to actually, oh I don't know… live."

"I guess I could help you, but… you'd need to help with some stuff in the back and some other things, just like a payment," he ended with a hesitant sigh.

"I'll do it," Korua leapt from her seat.

"The name's Uta," he said.

"Korua."

Korua, blinked, shaking her mind away from that flashback of her arrival at HySys. Not a moment passed Uta and the other two were still talking.

"Uhh… Yeah, I'm a one eyed-ghoul. Uhhhh… No, I wasn't born like that," A sheepish voice said. Korua snapped. She was filled with adrenaline in a matter of moments. _What did that dude just say? A one-eyed ghoul? Like me? Who cares if he wasn't born like that?!_ She crawled to the entrance to the back of the store, and quietly collected herself while still listening. Korua walked out of the entrance, pretending to not notice the two teens.

"Uhhh, why do you need to know-," the scrawny boy abruptly stopped as he saw Korua come out.

"Hey, Uta, who's the new guy?" She asked, pointing to the boy sitting in a chair, letting Uta sketch him and make his mask.

"Oh. Just a new customer. Touka brought him in. He's new around here, so she just came to make sure he didn't get caught by the Doves on his way from the 20th Ward," he said in a casual, mellow way.

Korua didn't realize that the Doves were in that Ward, but obviously, the wimp was nervous. Purple-Hair just seemed impatient.

"Come on, let's get on with it. We don't have forever," Purple-Ha-, Touka, said.

"Hey, Korua can you get me another pencil? This one broke," Uta asked, still in that casual, mellow way.

"Sure, I'll be right back," Korua quickly went to find another pencil, wondering at the same time where the heck that scrawny wimp came from. Korua came back with a pencil, nice and sharp, but looked at the boy from time to time. Touka (Purple-Hair) kept eyeing her in a funny way, so at a period of time, Korua stuck her tongue out and pulled her eyelids down.

"I'm done for today, so you can make your way back home. Also! Take Korua with you, for a temporary visit, I want her to visit the 20th Ward, have some fun. All she does is stay cooped up in here doing work or studying by herself. It really is depressing to watch," Uta expressed.

 _Coming from the guy who supposedly tattooed his eyes into a permanent kakugan and looks like an emo icon._ Korua thought, clearly pissed.

"Alright, let's go, the Sun's going down, and I don't want to be caught by Doves," Touka also clearly annoyed.

Korua quickly grabbed her black hoodie, tied it around her waist, smoothed her gray shirt, slipped on her combat boots over her black leggings, readjusted her messy ponytail with a bobby pin and trudged out silently next to the two teens, regretting it more and more with each step she took.

The black haired boy, stopped for a moment, and turned to her saying. "By the way, my name's Kaneki,"

Korua had to force herself to smile.

~End of Chapter One~


	2. Warm Welcome Cold Hand

II

 _Warm Welcome; Cold Hand_

It was already dark when Touka, Kaneki, and Korua made it to Anteiku. _I can't believe that ghouls actually_ serve _humans for the_ human's _needs. Are these people crazy or just idiots?_ Korua thought in her head. "Hey, are you okay? You look sick," Kaneki said. In some way, Korua was.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just haven't been out this far in a while… " Korua replied.

"Alright, we can chit chat inside. I don't want to get caught by Doves. The only reason I even agreed to let you come here with us was because Uta said you could fend for yourself against Doves," Touka interrupted briskly. _Now did he?_ Korua thought. She never expected Uta to compliment anyone, especially her. Adjusting her glasses for no reason, Korua quickly went in after Kaneki and Touka walked into Anteiku. The door opened to a warm and bright cafe with a couple people dressed in uniforms, cleaning up after the store closed.

"Touka! You're back from Uta's! Who'd you bring with you?" A brunette girl asked.

"Oh, well she's from Uta's. I think he took her in about two years ago and he wanted her to check out the place. Also, her name's Korua," Touka said.

"What a nice name! My name is Hinami!" She replied happily.

In return, Korua gave her a polite smile.

"Uh, do you have any coffee, I'm pretty famished."

"Oh sure! Extra-black?" Hinami winked. Ghoul inside joke.

"Thanks."

Touka was gone, and soon came back from the top floor with an old man with a tall, lean frame; he was clearly fit for his age.

"Ah, you must be Korua. I've heard quite a bit about you from Uta's visits," the old man shook Korua's hand in a very business-like way, but somehow friendly at the same time.

"Oh! Are you Yoshimura? I've also heard very much about you from Uta, but other sources have also mentioned you. And by that, I mean food critics," Korua worded, awkwardly.

The chat went well enough with Yoshimura and Korua ended up giving Anteiku her phone number just in case as well as a bag of grinded coffee beans. Korua gave a respectful bow and quietly exited Anteiku. Then, she ran. Korua ran until she knew no one could see her.

"Ha..ha..cough cough… that was _horrible_. I can't believe I was in a room with that many people for that long… and how does Uta expect me to get home with it this dark out?! It's like 9:40pm!," Korua ran her fingers through her hair and sat on the dark alley sidewalk to rest. After a minute or so, Korua stood up, brushing the bottom of her hoodie and prepared to go on a full sprint back to Uta's, but before she could, a silhouette of a man appeared through the shadows. He was coming closer to her and Korua recognized the long trench coat and familiar suitcase.

"Hello, girl. Can you tell me why you're out here all alone this late? There are ghouls around," the man said to her.

"Crap. I don't have time for you! I just wanted some peace and quiet, but you just _had_ to ruin it!," she pointed at the CCG investigator.

"So, you are a ghoul. I guess that makes me allowed to kill you," he seethed.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," before he could say anything, Korua lashed out at him, cutting her kagune through his right arm, making him unable to use his quinque with his dominant hand.

"I'm glad it's so dark out right now," Korua was suddenly grateful for the misty fall night. She had one of her rinkaku arms in his right arm, so she had seven left to use. Korua stabbed the man right through his chest. Based on the sound of a heavy thud and the shape of a suitcase on the ground, Korua suspected he was dead. Hopefully, no one would come through this alley far enough to see the blood splatter. Just in case, Korua stuffed the dead body into the nearest dumpster and continuously stabbed him until no one would be able to recognize him. Korua took the quinque suitcase and smashed it as a basic precaution as well.

"Well, that was annoying. Ughhhhhhh... I'm so tired, and I should probably get back soon," Korua stared at the now closed dumpster. "That dude was easy to kill, but I should've killed him sooner. I hope that he was a bad person or else I killed one good person in a world where bad people are rising quickly," Korua sighed. What a strange analogy.

She checked to make sure there wasn't any blood on her clothes ( Korua managed to perfect a technique for that after she made it over a span of two years). After making a full body check, she ran home, scared, not that she might be caught by another CCG investigator, but not making curfew and being locked out _again_ by Uta.

"Did I make it in time?," checking her watch using her phone as a light, it said 10:16. "Oh god. I made it just in time. Four more minutes and I would be screwed," Korua sighed, letting herself breathe again. She opened the door to the now closed HySy and took off her shoes quietly.

"There you are. I was a bit concerned with the Doves running around and all in the 20th Ward… Did you meet any of the Doves on your way home… ?," Uta's expression changed quickly.

"You killed him didn't you,"

"Yeah. Hey I'm sorry!," Korua replied, seeing Uta's face, "It's not my fault that the dude tried to kill me!,"

"Did you make sure-"

"Yeah, yeah. I smushed his body into a trash can and crushed his quinque,"

"But it still won't do much," Uta countered.

"It's called false hope. And anyways, how would anyone know I did it? According to the CCG, I haven't been seen in two full years."

"That'll just make them want to investigate this case _even more_. And you have that distinct _style_ after you kill any CCG investigator alone,"

"Well, how would they find him in the first place?,"

"Like any person with common sense,"

"Oh, Crap," Korua realized that it would be easy as cake to find him, with the 'checking if the man is here for work, realizing he isn't here at all, to the checking where he was last on his shift, and finding him in a bloody smush with the oh-so familiar finishing style of a particularly nasty ghoul.

" Well, you must've been too tired to care. Get some rest. You've had an eventful day," Uta went back to his melancholy self and started turning off the lights.

"Ok, also, those two customers that came today,"

"Touka and Kaneki you mean?,"

"Yeah. Touka seems like such a _nice_ girl," Korua emphasized on the 'nice" quite largely.

"Well she's nicer when you get to know her. That reminds me! You're going to the 20th Ward again," Uta exclaimed.

"Huh?! You never told me this!,"

"Well, I got a message from Yoshimura on your way back, and he said that he wants to offer you a job at Anteiku,"

" _What?!_ But I already have a job! Here!," Korua pointed to everything in the shop with both her hands, in disbelief that Uta agreed to this.

"Also, I told you that, I'd keep you safe, but not forever. Anteiku will have a much better chance of keeping you live longer," Uta added.

"But you work with the Clo-,"

"Don't say that here," Uta shushed her, "Now, get some rest. I'll be right up in a moment,"

Korua didn't waste her breath trying to argue with Uta more. The 'Clo-'s were always a touchy topic and she rarely ever mentions it. Walking up to her room, she changed into a simple blue shirt and a pair of white shorts.

Rubbing her eyes, Korua looked at the ceiling, _This day was just a fricking roller coaster. Yeah, a roller coaster. Or a hurricane. Whichever makes you confused more._

Walking into the bathroom, Korua brushed her teeth. When she looked into the mirror, she realized that she had a scratch on her face; right under her chin. It was barely visible if you just glanced at her.

"Eh. It'll heal. Oh! There it is! Well, isn't," Korua laughed at herself. She enjoyed watching herself heal wounds at fast rates. In this shop, without a customer there wasn't much to do.

Walking back to her bedroom, Korua flipped on her bed, and without even realizing it, fell asleep.


	3. The Calm After the Storm

III

The Calm after the Storm

"If you were to ask me, I'd say this was the most natural result. That old geezer was bound to be killed by his own obsession! This all happened because Hiro was too busy collecting quinques in a daze to improve his skills," Marude said, with a scoff in his tone.

"Marude-san, please, you shouldn't be scorning the dead… ," Arima replied, tense.

"Hiro can still hear you and he will haunt you for the rest of your life and you will die," Okashina nonchalantly spoke out from behind the group of investigators.

"What did you say, crazy girl?!" Marude turned around abruptly.

"I said- ," Okashina started to speak, in the same tone, but was interrupted.

"Ikkaku-chan! Marude, this is a funeral, not the CCG Office. Show some respect," A stern voice next to Okashina warned her. He was the complete opposite of her. The man was big as Okashina was tiny. He bulged with muscles barely contained underneath his CCG uniform. A long braid of dark hair trailed down his back with threads of silver signifying his age. Dark, shiny eyes and a salt and pepper goatee completed his look.

Okashina obediently backed off and bowed her head in apology to Marude. He grunted in response not paying any attention to it at all.

"So, Okashina-chan, how was the funeral? Did you see Arima-san?" What a nuisance Okashina thought. Seidou Takizawa was pestering her again.

"I suggest you just do your work and shut up. And this is coming from your superior investigator, Rank 2 Takizawa Seidou," Okashina laughed smugly in his face, earning her an outraged Seidou and another headache. Sighing, Okashina returned to her work, rolling her shoulders back to lessen the discomfort.

"Hey, what's this? A report?" Okashina spotted a file on her desk.

You have been stationed to the 20th Ward due to the spotting of Rank SS: Arachnid, in that area.

"SS, doesn't this call for multiple Special Operatives? Hey, Seidou, you know anything about this?," Okashina asked Seidou.

"Wait? You're asking me for an answer? Me?!," Seidou pointed in disbelief.

"Yes, I'm asking you, idiot. Now tell me if you know anything about this,"

"Ok ok. Well because of your partner Orokamono, who is special class, you're going to the 20th Ward because of a 'reported sighting' of Arachnid, who the CCG hasn't seen in two years. From what I've heard, it was a CCG officer that got killed and then stabbed so much they couldn't recognize him. Then his quinque got crushed. Clearly this person knew what they were doing… But how the heck would they know it was Arachnid?! ," Seidou replied, clearly proud he knew something that Okashina didn't.

"Well then, thanks for the info, but I'll be going to the 20th Ward now, Rank 2 Takizawa," Okashina rubbed in his face.

"Huff, well you don't have to be snobby about it," Seidou pouted, but Okashina was busy, already cleaning her desk.

"Hey! Did you hear? Juuzou and Amon are in the 20th Ward too!," Seidou said, smirking.

"Ugh… Those two… ," Okashina grunted, "You're a real pain, you know? Honestly, you're still stuck at HQ. I'll just try to make the most of this Arachnid ghoul for you!"

"Hey! I'm going to the 20th Ward too! In fact, we're all going to the 20th Ward, like one big happy family!."

"Well that "family's" gonna be in for a big divorce…." Okashina countered.

"Anyways, let's get moving, I don't want to be late on your account, Takizawa,"

"Alright, Ikkaku," He replied.

They quietly moved around as another CCG investigator entered the room. In a couple days, both Seidou and Okashina would be in Nerima, the 20th Ward.

"Amon-san, nice to meet you. I am Special Class Investigator Kureno Namori," A tall middle aged man shook Amon Koutarou's hand warmly before his face darkened. "I'm very sorry for your loss. Hiro-san was an exceptional investigator and a good friend. You know he used to be my partner." Then with an encouraging smile, "I'm sure he would be proud of you, Amon-kun."

"It's an honor to meet you, Special Class Investigator Namori. And thank you for your condolences Namori-sir," Amon replied. "Sir, I would like to talk to you about the Arachnid case. It has been a decade since the last reports of SS ghouls in the 20th Ward. I don't think that we are prepared for this sort of ghoul plus the several other S-ranked ghouls already in the Ward," he continued. It would take a whole operation to take out S-rated Binge Eater, S-rated Gourmet, S-rated Rabbit, Number 745, and the SS-rated Arachnid. But, this whole Arachnid case could just be a wild goose chase… Amon's hand clenched into fists at the thought of Rabbit and 745.

Namori placed a comforting hand on to Amon's shoulder. "Amon-kun, don't worry about it. HQ has deployed new guys to Nerima. It'll be fine," he reassured Amon. "Now I have return to this crime scene," he sighed.

"Crime scene?"

"Yeah, I got to go help Shinohara with his stuff. He's leaving for the 20th Ward, with some crazy-ass kid… ," Namori chuckled as he walked away, waving behind to Amon.

"Whoa!" Okashina spiraled in awe as she walked inside the enormous building. The lights sparkled and tasted like sugar cubes. This building was a dream for any synesthete. She could get used to this.

"This is soooooo cool, I thought I would be cooped up in that stupid office forever," Seidou pointed.

Can you shut up? Okashina thought. I'm trying to have a moment here. God, let me have a little fun in my life without you butting in! "Well, we should be going. I don't want to make a bad impression on the first day," she said coolly

"Alright, I'll be going now, catch up with you later, okay?" Seidou shouted as he ran towards the elevator.

"Yeah, sure. I'll see you later," Okashina replied softly, smiling faintly. Their "catch up" later that day would be the only time she'd genuinely want to see Seidou and have a conversation.

"I'm Juuzou Suzuya! You must be the Okashina I've heard all about!"

So this is the brat that Shinohara-san is partnered with. Okashina probed the boy, or is it a girl, up and down.

"Yep. Don't worry, you get used to it, but to be honest, even I can't handle it after a while," Shinohara said.

Okashina tried to ignore the boy (who, frankly, looked like a girl) playing with her hair while lugging up her things to her desk. "Wow! Your hair is so blue! It reminds me of the sky! Or maybe the ocean…? I know! A Gatorade drink!," Juuzou yelled.

Seriously! Is that the best analogy you can think of!? I can write a fucking sonnet about my hair and you compare it's color to Gatorade? What about its taste, its texture, it's amazingness? Okashina didn't know whether to consider it a compliment, an insult, both, or that he was just plain stupid. She chose the last one. Puffing on, Okashina finally got all of her things out. Brushing off the sweat, she plopped into her chair, feeling victorious. "Arachnid, watch out. I'm coming for ya!" Okashina muttered with a demented smile.

"I think she needs help," Juuzou whispered with hand to his mouth, pointing at her.

"Coming from you, that's hilarious," Okashina retorted, snapping back from her involuntary trance.

"Please, let's just try to get along," Shinohara said, "It's been a long day for her. Let her relax, Juuzou."

"Don't count on it, big boss," Okashina whispered as the tall investigator left the room.


	4. Rendezvous

IV

Rendezvous

Okashina took her stuff outside, hoping to get some work done in this "Arachnid Case" she received.

"Let's hope I don't screw this up," she mumbled. Looking up, she realized how big the 20th Ward was and the possibility of Arachnid leaving the perimeters of the 20th Ward.

"This is why we have Bureau Investigators! I don't have time to interview a couple thousand people." Okashina ran through the street, wanting to get a good headstart. She passed by lots of people and asked anyone who stopped by her.

It was almost half an hour and Okashina only asked 15 people, all saying they knew nothing about it, but Okashina thought that at least had _something_ to do with this Arachnid.

And then, Okashina spotted her. A girl wearing mostly black and gray hurrying down the streets with wild black hair running behind her.

"Excuse me!" Okashina yelled towards her, " Have you ever heard of the name Arachnid?"

At that word, the girl stopped, putting a finger to her mouth.

"Uhh, let me think… I think I have… Oh! I heard of her from a couple drunk CCG guys a couple days back talking on the streets. I think they were making bets about if "Arachnid" was real or not. I frankly believe it's just a wild goose chase."

"Do you have anymore information-"

"Sorry, I got to go. I have a job interview! I hope you find what you're looking for!" she sped down the road and before Okashina could chase her; she disappeared into a large mass of people.

"Well, she gave me info, but not the kind I needed. All I know from that is CCG investigators need to lay off on the alcohol and there are conspiracies already coming up," Okashina said to herself. _I think she's off my list of suspects. Quite informative, and no shaking voice. In fact, no signs of lying._

"Excuse me, sir! Does the name 'Arachnid' sound familiar? Have you noticed any disappearances and/or murders in your neighborhood?" Okashina called out to a young, dark haired man with a medical eye patch.

"N-no, I-I don't think so, why?" the flustered boy responded. _Hm… he could be lying. I think he's hiding something. Better question him more._

"Nothing to worry about! It's just that there has been a nasty ghoul around these parts and I was wondering if you had any information." The boy visibly jumped at the mention of 'ghoul'. _Gotcha! You're coming with me!_ "Sir, are you alright? You seem quite shaken. I think you should come with me." Fake concern dripped from her voice.

Okashina grabbed for the boy's arm but he jerked out of her iron grasp and ran into an alley.

"Kami, Hon, we have a suspect. Engage. Do not harm him," Okashina calmly spoke to the radio as she jogged to keep up with the fleeing boy. She weaved in and out of the crowds expertly like a predator stalking its prey. _Where are you? Where are you? Where are you hiding? Come out, come out, wherever you are!_

"God dammit, that kid is fast. I thought I had him!" Okashina realized that the boy probably turned a corner, because she couldn't see him from here.

"Come on! He seemed like the one person with answers!" Seeing a familiar patch of black hair, she ran toward him. As she got closer, she heard another voice along with the boy's.

"There you were! God! I was worried I lost you!" It was the girl from before with the job interview, "Oh! It's the investigator! Is this why you were running?" she looked at the boy in disbelief.

"It's you! From before!" Okashina didn't know what to say.

"Oh, sorry about him. He can be an idiot sometimes. He said something about you chasing him and thinking he was a suspect for this case?"

"Y-yeah, she was questioning me, so I ran, because I was scared," He stammered.

"Come on! You have no idea who this… Who was it again?"

"Arachnid; SS-rated Ghoul," Okashina filled in.

"Yeah! Also, if you're saying he's suspicious because of his shaky voice, he's got Spasmodic Dysphonia," pointing to the shy boy.

"Isn't that like having voice cracks and strained tone?" Okashina asked.

"Yeah, glad I didn't have to explain that. When he gets nervous it starts coming and he usually gets scared and runs away in embarrassment."

Okashina feel blood rushing to her cheeks, feeling stupid that the sad excuse of a boy would be of any use to the Arachnid case. "I'm so sorry. I think I'll just move on. Sorry, for wasting your time. You said you had a job interview to get to?"

"Yeah, this guy here is my friend. He works there, so he was gonna take me there," the girl replied.

"R-right, we b-better get going now… " the boy mentioned.

"Ok. Nice seeing you again!" They ran across the street, the girl waving back to her and the boy trying to pull her before the stoplight turned on. After they were out of sight, Okashina sighed.

Going into the radio again, she inhaled a deep breath, "Never mind. I engaged with the boy. He didn't know anything… We better move on."

"Anything. Anything at all about Arachnid! Give me something, Ikkaku-chan!" Kenmeina Orokamono sighed as he rubbed his eyes.

"I'm sorry, sir. I-I failed, sir. I have nothing on Arachnid. I'll try better, sir. I promise!" Okashina vowed before bowing and turned to exit, only to be interrupted by Orokamono.

"Okashina-chan, I didn't mean it like that. At least, do you have any suspects?" Orokamono said calmly. Okashina hesitated before bowing her head responding, "No, sir. I-I thought I had one but he turned out to be a mistake."

At this, Orokamono's interest was suddenly piqued.

"Please, elaborate."

Nodding her head, Okashina continued, "I asked this one boy, who was in college or highschool, with black hair and a medical eye patch if he knew anything about Arachnid. His response was a negative but he was startled when I said the word 'ghoul'. I thought that this was suspicious so I tried to contain him but he started to flee. After about 10 minutes of chasing, I caught the boy with another suspect from before, who I cleared. She explained the boy's nervousness was due to Spasmodic Dysphonia. The girl had a foolproof explanation and didn't show any signs of lying, if she lied _at all,_ "

"Are you positive that both of them weren't lying? One of your suspects could be a very convincing liar," Orokamono question Okashina.

"How do we even know that either of them were lying? They could be telling the truth for all we know! I don't want to go on another wild goose chase!,"

"I know but-,"

"Orokamono, I know you're a higher rank, but can't you just listen for once?," Okashina could see colors flooding from their conversation.

"I mean, they're just teens! How the frick would they know anything about this? And they were on the road to get to a fucking job interview! A _job interview_ ," Okashina hadn't felt this frustrated since she first talked to Takizawa.

"Alright! I'll drop it. I trust you, Okashina; I mean you're my _partner_. I kind of have to trust you,"

Dusting off her pants (even though there was no dust), Okashina stood picked up her file, "I'll do better this time. I promise," _The best places to get information is a bar… dammit, but I hate bars!. Snap out of it Okashina. This isn't an action movie!_.

She walked out the door, refusing to return to Orokamono without getting even a little bit of information about Arachnid.


	5. The Job and the Watch

VI

The Job and the Watch

"Dammit, Kaneki! That was way too close!," Korua grabbed his arm after that crazy lady was out of sight.

"But it was just like you said, we don't know anything about this A-arachnid,"

"Yeah, for _you_ that is," Korua looked at him, "Hey! Don't give me that look! Arachnid isn't _that scary_. I mean she wouldn't hurt you unless you provoked her. Or if Arachnid doesn't like you,"

"Why didn't you tell that CCG officer this?!," Kaneki was clearly confused.

"Because… I know Arachnid… personally I guess you would say… ," Korua never planned on telling anyone who didn't already know it, _she_ was Arachnid.

"Wait…are you… .! Omigosh, Korua… " He looked at me, wide-eyed, expression changed.

 _Shit shit shit shit shit. Kaneki, don't make assumptions, fuck fuck he knows. The one person-_ "Kaneki-" Korua was trying to calm Kaneki down, who quickly running short of breath.

"Oh god, we're so screwed. I- I shouldn't be here with you! I shouldn't be in any of this!" this Kaneki guy was clearly worried about being with Korua. But honestly, she couldn't argue.

"Kaneki, please! Calm down, you've got to calm down." Korua said through gritted teeth. Several people were glancing at them with uncertainty.

"Ah, Korua, just let me go to Anteiku… this is too much. Oh, god, why did I come here? I can't even remember. What am I doing here you gotta let me go, I can't be seen with you, please understand." Kaneki started to walk away from her.

"You can't go, shit. I don't know the way to Anteiku and you're blowing our cover." by now they were whispering again.

"Man, why didn't you at least tell them a little something 'bout yourself?" Kaneki was panting. That lack of breath he had was coming back at him.

"Well, because if I told the CCG new information they'd be like 'Huh, I wonder how this girls knows shit about this ghoul' and then they'll come searching for me and one thing leads to another, I'm dead! I don't want to be dead!" Korua could see that Kaneki was calming down a bit. He wasn't trying to run away from her, at least. They were also walking towards Anteiku without knowing it and before they could keep on arguing, Hinami was waving at them from the Anteiku entrance.

It was the middle of the day so the entrance looked much more appealing than it did last time. _God, will I really be here for… heck! I don't even know how long I'm gonna be here!_

"Good. You actually came," a familiar purple-haired girl came down the stairs. "Yoshimura's waiting for you upstairs. He's gonna ask you some questions, but you're going to get the job anyways so what's the point really?"

For once, Korua agreed with Touka. "Alright, well, I'll be going up then," inhaling a deep breath of air. Kaneki had rushed inside Anteiku before, not making eye contact with Korua. She had a bad feeling that he was going to tell 'em all the news.

"Don't worry, Korua. Relax, it's just you and me," Yoshimura was on a couch while Korua sat on a chair opposite of him. Korua sipped the coffee she was offered and gently placed it on the table in front of her. The light from the window gave everything a warm glow; none of the electric lights were on and that's how Korua liked it.

"Well," she placed her coffee to her lip again, "Shall we get on with this 'interview'?,"

"Of course. I appreciate your straightforward attitude. Have you ever made coffee before?,"

"Yeah. If a ghoul has never made coffee, they're either dead or hopeless. But, if I must say so myself, it's _nothing_ compared to this," Korua looked at her now empty coffee cup.

"Well I'm glad to hear that Miss Korua. Also, you seem to have a diverse bloodline," Yoshimura made it sound like a statement rather than a question.

"Yeah. My mother was from Korea whereas my father was from Tokyo. They met while my father was traveling in Seoul… They married two years later and had me within the first year," Korua hesitated to tell Yoshimura more, but knew it was vital to tell him. "My parents raised me in Seoul for the first 10 years of my life. After that, we moved to the 24th Ward… After my father was killed by ghouls, my mother and I resorted to eating ghouls as well as people due to the lack of people in the 24th Ward… A couple months later… my mom was slaughtered by CCG agents. I've been with Uta ever since,"

There was a new aura in the room, dark and sober, Yoshimura sat in silence for a while. Then he spoke, "You know, I lived in the 24th Ward for sometime. It wasn't long though,"

Korua couldn't find herself to believe that Yoshimura only spent a little time in that dark hellhole, but she didn't press any further, feeling his situation there was relatable to hers.

"Moving on to less morbid events, let's talk about your job here," Yoshimura changed the conversation quickly. "You'll be given a uniform as seen on the other employees. When can you start working?,"

"Well, since Uta kinda _kicked me out_ , I can do tomorrow or the day after. I don't have a lot of stuff anyways. Just clothes, books, shoes, and the like," Korua replied. She actually didn't know how much stuff she owned. She hoped that it would be small enough to fit in her small suitcase…

She left in awkward satisfaction trying to think of all the things she owned on her way back to HySy. By the time she got to the entrance of the store, Korua could only think of her clothes and books, as well as her bedding stuff.

"Uta? I'm back," Korua was careful to not say 'home', knowing that this place wasn't home for her, "Ugh. He's probably out on an errand. I should probably start packing up anyways. Also! My computer. Haha, can't forget that,"

Korua slowly walked up the stairs, grabbing her suitcase out of the small closet in the hall leading to her tiny room. As she walked into her room, Korua felt a bit nostalgic. _I'm never gonna sleep here again. Well, maybe. You know, now I'm not so sure about that._ Her nostalgia quickly went away. She moved through her clothes quickly, folding them nicely into the suitcase to conserve space, moving on to her desk, she put in her notebooks and pencils in a pocket in the suitcase. Sharpening her colored pencils (which she bought with her own money), Korua noticed a glinting object in the back of one of her drawers. When she took it out, Korua noticed it was a watch. The watch had a leather strap as well as a separate clock face inside the watch to count the seconds. _It's mother's watch. I thought I lost it._ Korua gasped a little as she picked it up. She was sure the battery was dead, but she could take it to a shop. Gently, Korua put it on, putting the buckle tongue in the last adjustment hole.

"Well, better move on. I'll worry about this thing afterwards,"

Putting away the colored pencils she sharpened in her suitcase gently, Korua closed the suitcase, making sure she packed everything she had. Laying on her bed mattress, stripped of it's covers, Korua imagined what would happen once she got to Anteiku.

"Maybe I'll change for the better. I'll probably change for the worse though," she softly laughed at it, realizing how true her statement was.

Korua closed her eyes, and before she knew it, she was fast asleep.


	6. One too Many Vodkas

VI

One too many Vodkas

The neon lights glowed eerily in the dark alley as Okashina walked hesitantly down it. She shivered under her thin blouse, chastising herself for not bringing anything warmer.

 _Helter Skelter._ The bright sign lit above her. _Alright, Okashina, you can do this. Just put on a bright smile and don't freak out._ Taking a deep breath and reminding herself why she was here, Okashina took a step into the quiet bar. There were only two people: a redhead bartender and a tall, silver-haired man.

"Hey! What can I get you?" A cheery woman said while trying to stop the man from breaking more glasses.

"I'd like any infor- a drink. I'd like a drink," Okashina was unsure what to say in a situation like this.

"Ok. It might come a bit late, though. Choose anything you want," between struggles with the man she replied, "I'm gonna get him a chair with _armrests_!"

"Um, you choose. Anything strong," Okashina hesitated.

"Okay, let's see how you do with 叔母ロベルタ. If you don't pass out, it'll be on the house!" Itori smirked while forcing the silver-haired man down into a chair _away from the wine glasses._

"Hey, you need any help?"

"Oh, he's just a friend. Gets drunk super easy though. Only had two glasses!"

"Yeh, but tha glrashes are evul. Cummon Itooorrri-chan! Anosher glrash of blroood!" The drunk man suddenly plopped up the chair, slobbering all over himself before falling asleep, yet again.

"Yomo! It's Itori! Stop smashing my glasses or I'm gonna make you pay for them!"

After the redhead agreed to let Okashina help her, they managed to haul the guy into his chair, so his butt wouldn't slide off.

Dusting her hands, Okashina sat down. Itori proceeded to make Okashina. "So, where do you work? You must really be tired to go straight to vodka,"

"Oh, I work for some… big corporate office. Super boring," keeping caution, she poured a little bit into each of their glasses,"

"Sounds boring," taking a sip of her glass, Itori kept talking, "God, I wish life was more… go-with-the-flow, you know?,"

For once, Okashina felt comfortable in a bar. "Yeah. Totally get you. Let's have another drink," As Okashina poured their drinks, she watched Itori drink her shot. But, Okashina left her glass untouched.

"Hey… aren't you gonna have a little drink?," Itori's words were already getting sluggish.

"I just drank in a one shot," realizing she didn't sound _drunk_ enough, she slurred her words, "Well… time for another drink!," Pouring another drink for the both of them, Itori quickly became drunk because of the intensity.

"Oi! Haha… you know….HIC… this is really fun… HIC," Itori was red-faced, just the way Okashina wanted.

"Hey… you know anything about… ghoul rumours?," _Sly as shit, Okashina,_ she thought.

Luckily, Itori was too drunk to notice, "Oh yeah… heard this one. Arachnid….HIC….she's the biggest rumour….in the CCG I know of. We all… HIC… know she's female. And… couple days back you see…HIC… I heard from a couple… drunk….CCG agents that Arachnid was an _abnormality…_ HIC… I have no idea what that meant, but I'm guessing it has something to do with the ghoul… type," Itori's eyes drooped.

"Yawnn… I'm just gonna… lay here…. nice meeting you… Oka-chan… chan chan… HIC," Okashina awkwardly stood up, quietly and politely setting down some cash.

"Yeah, it was nice meeting you too," Okashini replied, looking at a now sleeping Yomo, snoring a bunch of lavender clouds.

Okashina quietly opened the door to the now closed Helter Skelter, wrapping her arms around her, realizing how much colder it got since she was here. She was about to take off, until she heard Itori murmuring, "Need to stop making that fermented… blood drink… Yomo… HIC… likes,". Itori.

"Fermented… blood…?," Okashina's eyes widened.

"Bloody Mary… HIC… ," Itori was scratching her head, "Yomo… drink… HIC… Aged Blood,"

"Right, sorry. Just a little jumpy," _I'm talking to a drunk person. I should just leave and hope the hangover isn't too bad._

After she got out of Helter Skelter, Okashina took a deep breath of air, not realizing it would've been that… unsophisticated.

"Time to go home. I hope that we find this Arachnid soon before she butchers anyone else. But if she does kill someone, I pray it's Seidou,"

Trudging back towards the CCG building, Okashina walked into Orokamono's office and placed 'the thinnest case file in the world' (as Okashina calls it) on his desk and walked to her car, wanting a good night's sleep.

"Ughoaegihgoiewhereami?," is what came out Okashina's mouth when she woke up just at the foot of her bed, still in the clothes she wore last night.

"I must've passed out before I got into bed," scratching her head, Okashina walked to her clock.

"8 o'clock in the _morning_?! How long did I sleep?!,"

Rushing for any clean clothes to wear, she found a clean gray sweater and a white tank top to wear underneath it as well as a pair of brown cargo pants. Pulling her socks up and slipping into her shoes, Okashina realized she forgot to brush her teeth.

"I'll just eat a mint! No one will notice!," Okashina, trying to make herself believe what she just said, popped two mints into her mouth and grabbed her car keys. Running out the door of her apartment and ran down the stairs, only to end up tripping on the end of her gray sweater.

"Crapppp! I'm gonna be late!,"

Jumping into her car, Okashina sped down the road, almost crashing into several passerby and receiving a lot of curses. As she parked into the CCG parking lot, Okashina ran out, locking her car while simultaneously trying to casually walk through the door.

"Huff… cough cough… hey… seidou… how was…your day yesterday?," Looking up at Seidou after she finished catching her breath in the lobby, she realized he was staring at her funny.

"Hey, you okay Okashina?,"

"Does it _look_ like I'm okay?,"

"Right, right, sorry. Do you want some water?,"

"No I'm fine. I need to get to work. Goodness, I hope Orokamono saw what I got," rushing past Seidou, she jumped up the stairs, hoping she wouldn't get scolded by her partner.

"So… is it good? That's all I could get in one night,"

" _Abnormality_ , eh? Well that's a new one,"

"What do you mean?,"

"Well, they say that Arachnid wasn't like other ghouls, but most people that have seen her are dead,"

"Well, that's depressing," _But surprisingly pleasant to hear. I must be crazy for thinking that_. Okashina thought. Shaking her head, Okashina bowed her head, leaving Orokamono's office. Going back to her own desk, Okashina looked through the CCG database, trying to find anybody who battled Arachnid two years ago and… well, _lived_.

Scrolling through the names of the people who were on the Anti-Arachnid missions, Okashina started mumbling to herself, " Dead… dead… dead… dead again… living! But died a couple months ago…. Dead…. Dead… so many dead… Amon… ? He was a lower rank than he is now, but he's _alive_! He's bound to remember something!,"

Running around the building, she finally found Amon's office. Before she walked in Okashina hesitated. _What do I say? Amon lost a lot of comrades that day. What if he doesn't even remember? What do I do then? This is my only lead,_ Okashina took a deep breath, and walked into Amon's office.

"What can I do for you, Miss Ikkaku?,"

"I'd like to ask you about something… "

Amon gave her a suspicious look, but invited her for a seat.

"Well, you see, I was sent here because of the Arachnid case,"

"Yes, of course,"

"As I was looking for any direct witnesses… I saw your name. Do you think, you could give me any information about your encounter? I don't care how brief it was,"

"That day… that mission was a dangerous one. The battle was so bloody so fast. Before I knew it, mostly everyone was dead. Arachnid was a beast, a pure monster. I could barely see her feet move, I don't even know if she moved at all," His voice kept on going faster and faster, "All I can say is, she's strong. I hope that she isn't here, in the 20th Ward. If she is, and you're by yourself, _run_. Don't face her unless you have at least four special operatives. And don't ever _hesitate,_ " Amon seemed shaken by the end, and Okashina could tell why.

"T-thanks for that. Sorry if that… uhhh… ummm… upset you," Okashina quickly left, recalling everything, and writing it all down. As she got to her office, Okashina checked her list again. It was impressive. Or at least it was, for a ghoul who no one has seen directly and lived to tell the tale. As she told Orokamono the story, she could see him jotting some notes down. He left to get a glass of water, but said she could wait here, saying it wouldn't take long. On his notepad, she saw messy handwriting. The words ' **Rank- SS to SSS(?)** ' and ' **Four Special Operatives at least; Will it rise since that was 2 yrs ago?** '. The rest were too messy to read.

"What does he mean by ' _SSS"?_ I'll learn later, or it's just gibberish. Orokamono knows what he's doing,"

"Ok! You're still here. Let's talk more about what you've found,"


	7. Temporary Sheltering

*Several Copyright References

VII

 _Temporary Sheltering_

She didn't like it here. Not one bit. She sat quietly on the balcony of Anteiku, sketching out the tree leaves, not wanting to join everyone else working in the cafe. It's been a week since Korua arrived here, but she still didn't feel at home. The leaves bristled and shook against the breeze, but that made Korua all the more uncomfortable. Drawing was one of the few things Korua could do well, and she made the most of it. With spare money she got from Uta and Yoshimura, she would buy notepads (her personal favorite is Strathmore ™) and draw in them. She's used up five notepads throughout her life, savoring every last page.

"And….done," Satisfied with her work, Korua looked at the detailed drawing of the autumn leaves. Adding a bit more shade into the orange, she picked up her things and went back inside. Korua didn't step outside much, but she spent a lot of time on the balcony. Fortunately, not a lot of people came up here in the chilly fall breeze. Whenever a customer came up to eat here, she would scramble back, making sure they didn't see her there.

"Korua! Come on, you gotta start your shift sometime!" a familiar voice whined. Kaneki was waving her over to come inside. Sighing, she cleared everything and put on her uniform. Kaneki was going to study, so Korua filled in for him, alongside Touka.

As she walked down the stairs, tying up her hair, Touka saw her and visibly sighed in relief.

"Good. I thought you weren't gonna work at all," Touka carried another tray of coffee to customers, and Korua grabbed a notepad and started working. Bored, she started a conversation with Touka. One thing Korua _did_ manage to accomplish was to get on better grounds with Purple-Hair (but Korua calls her Touka now). Both of them were now at the counter, picking up food and coffee.

"Heard you were going to a _high school_. With humans. That's really-"

"What? Idiotic? Dangerous? I've heard those a lot," Touka said, brisk.

"No! I meant to say 'great'. I wanted to do the same thing, but Uta said I couldn't and I was already busy with HySy and my parents kinda ironed it into my brain that 'being surrounded by humans is dangerous' and stuff,"

"Oh… " Touka seemed embarrassed she cut off Korua's sentence.

"Well, let's get back to work. We don't want the people complaining," Touka ushered both of them back towards the tables.

Plating out coffee, Korua, smiled at the customers, hoping she didn't look dead on the inside. After living mostly alone for four straight years with no reason to smile, it was hard to look cheerful, to say the least.

"Hope you enjoy your coffee. I'll come around if you need anything," Korua was getting better at the 'waitress' act and noticed smiling was left painful, after each day.

"You're getting better, Korua. My shift is almost over and I need to do an errand. I know it's only been a couple minutes, but do you think you could do this alone?," Touka seemed apologetic, so Korua easily let her go, "Thanks, Korua. I owe you one,"

She ran out, leaving Korua with the customers. She sighed. Heaving up her tray, she proceeded to move on with her work.

That was, until two men came in, "Goodness. I need some coffee! I couldn't wait to get out of that cooped up building!" The first man was very energetic (Korua wouldn't recommend him any coffee to say the least), and the second was more mellow.

"Calm down. The CCG building is huge. How could you call _that_ cooped up?," Korua subconsciously flinched at the word 'CCG'.

They walked to the nearest table, near the window, and looked at the small menu on the table. Korua walked toward them after collecting her thoughts.

"What can I get for two hard-working men?" The second man chuckled at that.

"Well, at least _one_ of us is," the second man eyed the first, who just got the joke.

"For your information, I work very hard as a CCG investigator! I've killed an amount of ghouls that would make anyone proud!" he huffed.

"But you can still count the amount of ghouls you've killed," the second countered.

Before Korua ripped out both of their faces because of their talking, the second man stopped the conversation.

"Well, we didn't come here to chat with a waitress now did we? Can we take our order now?"

"Of course!," Korua stumbled a bit, dazed, wanting to kill them right there and then, but trying to keep control of her kagune rippling through her.

"I'd like a dark cappuccino, Maybe a little whipped cream," he said.

"I'll take a nice macchiato. With extra cream please. Oh! And a little caramel, if you don't mind," the second was clearly sugarhigh already, but he was a _customer_.

"Sure. I'll get that for you soon," Korua walked to the bar, grinding coffee beans. Her anger at those two men went into the beans, making it the smoothest she's made so far. _I can't believe I'm_ serving _two men who were trained to kill my kind. I thought that ghouls were higher up than humans!_ Korua thought to herself. Realizing that she almost pummeled her beans into a pulp, she took the finely ground beans and started brewing the coffee. As she looked up to see if the men were growing impatient, she saw that they had CCG files about ghouls, completely open. _This might come in handy…_ Korua realized this could be her chance to learn more about the CCG, so she slinked over to them, planning to ask them if they wanted anything else from the menu.

"Hi, sorry to bother you," Korua looked down on the files, "I'm just wondering if there's anything else you would like from our menu… ?" Korua looked down again, realizing that the ghoul they were talking about was _her_. But they didn't know that of course.

"Actually, do you have any soup I'd really like that to take to the office," the tall man said. Korua realized that he was cold, even in the heated cafe.

"Sure. Anything for you?," she looked at the other man, but he just shrugged.

"Eh, I just need a coffee. Thanks for asking though."

Bending over to grab the menu over the table, she sneakily glanced at the file that was now under her. _Idiots. They're both idiots. Leaving a file like that just so everyone can see it. Although, I guess it was worth it._ _They don't have a lot of information on me either. That's good, I'm glad all my work payed off._

Korua walked back to her coffee. It was perfect, with the steam floating out and giving out that brilliant aroma. Gently placing the coffee cups on the tray, Korua walked over and placed them on the men's table. Thinking again, Korua took the files and put them together to put the coffee cups down, secretly looking at most of the papers.

"Hope you enjoy," she lightly said, feeling slightly victorious she smiled to herself, but puzzled at what she saw in those files as well.


	8. The Rating

VIII

 _The SS Rating_

"Yeah, so that's the basic gist, Okashina," Orokamono plopped his hands into his lap.

"So, you're saying she's so strong that she is rated 'SS'?," Okashina sighed.

"Mhmm, and that was two years ago. She was rated around 'S', we didn't really care about her, she kept low and didn't cause ruckus. Well, until that incident," Okashina eyed him nervously; they both knew what that was," She moved up the ranks immensely afterwards. We're putting her in SS, because we're not sure of her physical extent now,"

"Poor Amon He must be traumatized by that," Okashina puffed light yellow, "This Arachnid bitch sounds horrible,"

"She is horrible," Orokamono intruded.

"Well, no duh, but she sounds strong as well. How are we going to defeat her now? We have no idea how much she's progressed in growth and strength within the last two years and we don't even know what she looks like anymore!," Okashina was flushed by the end.

"I understand Ikkaku, but we need take care of this… this… _pest_ now! She's been a bother for the last two years, keeping everyone on their toes and is still a bother now!,"

Okashina was bristling not knowing if it was because Orokamono or not.. Feeling the burn inside her stomach again, Okashina breathed slowly, quenching it. Sighing she relaxed a bit, taking in the conversation.

"I think this is good for today. Okashina, do you want to go home early? I wouldn't mind. I know you worked hard last night. I can see the bags under your eyes. Go home, or get a coffee," Orokamono concluded the conversation. Gently he escorted Okashina out, telling her to get rest, while she kept saying no.

"Ok! I'll go get some rest, but I'm gonna try a coffee first." Okashina walked to her car, as Orokamono settled down and he was out of sight. Getting into her car, Okashina checked for the nearest coffee shop.

"Hari! Tell me the nearest coffee shop and directions." Okashina said to the electronic app assistant on her phone, Hari.

"Of course. Let me get that right for you." Her phone popped up with the screen _Anteiku,_ blinking. Looking at the small profile of the shop given, Okashina drove there, wanting just a simple, strong coffee. Thinking of the coffee, Okashina almost drove on the wrong lane, missed a tree, and narrowly didn't cause a mass car crash in a matter of ten minutes.

"Ugh, coffee controls my life Ah well, screw it." Okashina grabbed her jacket and purse out of the car and walked into the small cafe.

 _Ting!_ A small bell ringed. Okashina walked in, seeing two men, also from the CCG, preparing to leave.

"Okashina." They tipped their hats towards her, even though she's seen them only several times, and quite brief times to put it at that.

"Officers." She briskly returned their greeting, and took the table they were just sitting at.

As Okashina was looking at the small card-menu, a waitress came up to her, warmly. As she looked up, a familiar face looked down on her, except this time, with a more tired face, but more welcome as well.

"You! Again!" Okashina smiled.

"It's good to see you officer! How's the mission going?" the Interview girl (as Okashina called her) had been brought up by fate again.

"Ah, no, not going too well. But I think it'll be better after this coffee," Okashina winked at the girl.

"Ha ha, well I hope so too… anyways do you have any specific coffee you'd prefer?"

"Sigh, not really, I just want something that'll _wake me up_." Okashina yawned at the mention of waking up.

"I'll make a strong brew, officer. It'll take five minutes." She walked away, with her tray in her hand. She grinded the coffee beans, giving out a smell Okashina fond pleasant. In the meantime, Okashina searched up anything about Arachnid on the internet to see how much the public knew. Scrolling through the results, she didn't find much except news reports from two years ago. Sighing, she exited out of the sources, scrolling through some more.

"Your coffee is done, officer. Strong, just like you wanted it."

"Oh! Thanks." Okashina started to put her phone away, until the waitress caught her eye on Okashina's screen.

"What you searching up there?" Intrigued, the 'Interview' girl bent over to look at the screen. Hesitantly, Okashina showed her the screen.

"Arachnid? Oh, the ghoul. What's up with her? I've been hearing stuff here and there, but they're all the same thing… " She had a questioning look on her face.

"It's just a wild goose chase… pointless…"

The girl's eyes glinted a little, just enough so that Okashina noticed it, but too fast for it to seem unsuspicious. She looked through the phone screen again, tilting her head this time.

"Arachnid, what's she like?"

"Uh… I'm not sure to be honest, since I've never encountered her throughout my career. Why are you so interested, anyways, miss?"

"Oh, I want to plan for the future and I'm considering a role as a CCG Special Operative as an option." She looked wistful, wanting a high rank in a respected workforce.

"Ah, I see. I was just wondering if it was anything else. I do hope I see you at the CCG soon as coworker. The training is hard though, so be fit." Okashina felt a surge of pride coming up, even though she barely knew the girl, Okashina felt like a mentor.

"Thank you for the support. You're coffee's getting a bit cool. Would you want me to heat it or just leave you to your time?" She asked politely.

Okashina nodded her head, saying that she'd just drink her coffee this way, saying it was better for her taste. It really was good, and Okashina drank it soon enough, so it was still warm by the time she drank all of it. Okashina looked down on her watch 12:34, it said. Putting her cup back onto the plate that came with it, Okashina started to walk out. The bell jingled as she exchanged a polite goodbye with the girl. As she went out, Okashina looked at the sky, _I wish Arachnid would just show up. My job just keeps getting harder and harder._ Walking to her car, putting in the keys, and starting the engine, Okashina wondered how she was going to find Arachnid, if Arachnid even was the source of that CCG Officer's death.

God, this was going to be hard.


	9. Fake News (Short story not plot)

Okashina was staring at the TV, sipping her coffee. Across from her, Orokamono, her partner, was sipping on a Boba tea. She stifled a laugh, seeing the large man drinking such a "cute" drink.

"What're you staring at, First Rank?" he eyed her.

"Cough, cough, nothing, nothing at all… " Okashina drifted her eyes back to the TV.

She looked down into her cup, seeing that she drank it all up. Orokamono was still drinking his Boba, so Okashina relaxed into her chair almost dozing off, until an interrupted News Report jolted her.

" _We are coming in with a sudden news report related to the ghoul group known as Aogiri Tree_ -" the news reporter started.

Orokamono sipped loudly on his drink covering up the next seconds of what the speaker was saying.

"Orokamono-kun! Shut up, would you!" Okashina punched the man in his arm, making a large thud.

Several people glared at them, along with one old lady shushing them completely. Okashina, now blushing bristled back into her seat, glancing at Orokamono to quiet down. She focused back onto the woman who started to speak again.

" _There are reports of their supposed hideout being in the very CCG Headquarters itself! Social media reports all over Switter© and Note™ supposedly confirm it with photos and videos. CCG officials say that all of this is, quote 'Bullshit!'. "_ One woman with her child covered his ears, " _People even speculate that the head of the CCG could be the One-Eyed King._ "

Orokamono practically spit his drink onto his shirt. Okashina stared at the TV in disbelief. Tsuneyoshi Washuu, the _One-Eyed King_! She hated to admit it, but he was old, very old. He couldn't possibly anything like that. The irony of that thought too, a ghoul, sending people to kill _other ghouls_! She continued to watch, determined to see the end of this story.

" _But do not worry, Tokyo the reports are indeed fake! They were confirmed to be fake yesterday by the searchers going through posts about the Aogiri-CCG Conspiracy. It's first public source seems to be from an extremist, anti-ghoul, account from Switter© called 'MofoGhoulNo'. So people, please stay on edge, not only for ghouls, but for fake news., thank you. This is Yure Nayumi, signing off."_ The report closed, leading back to the normal news channel.

A collective sigh went throughout the cafe. People patted each other, laughed, and some even dabbing the sides of their eyes with tissues.

"I thought those reports were real for a couple days!" one man exclaimed.

"Seriously?! You must be really daft." his friend laughed.

"The videos are really realistic though." another one said.

People spoke, saying their opinions about the issue, whether they believed the speculations or not. Okashina dropped the bills onto the table, not wanting to hear anymore of these idiots talking. Orokamono grabbed his briefcase as well, taking one last sip of the almost finished Boba tea.

"Let's go, Okashina. We have _real_ work to do." Orokamono headed out the door.

Okashina followed him, but took one last look of the group of people laughing in the cafe, ordering more food and coffee. She wondered if people could fall for something like that, what would happen if anything, worse happened. Shaking her head she headed back to Orokamono's car, engine rumbling and Orokamono waiting in the driver's seat.

"Let's find some good stuff today, alright?" she said to Orokamono.

"That would be nice." He put his foot on the pedal, bringing up speed, left the parking lot, and drove back to the 20th Ward CCG building.

*This is not a part of the actual story, I just want to keep you guys occupied, sorry for not updating, Hoobab and I are trying to get it done as quick as possible, but we can't do it without your support!*

-Cathrin-


	10. Mado's Triumph

XI

Mado's Triumph

"Thank you, come again!" Korua waved the towel in her hand to the last customer from rush hour. She rubbed her eyes and wiped the tables of the crumbs resting on their tops. After all of them were clean, she sat at one of the bar chairs, shining her glasses with a spare cloth. The TV was still on, but the volume was too low and she couldn't see anything clearly. Korua reached for the remote, desperately groping for it around her. Finally, she found it on one of the other bar chairs near her and was about to turn up the volume until the familiar jingle of bells alerted her. She quickly put her glasses on and started the routine "Hello how may I help you?" until she saw who they were; Kaneki and Hinami.

He walked in with her, scrunching his shoulders. Well not walked in, more like ran in, scared out of his wits. Hinami had a tear-stained face and Kaneki looked traumatized. Korua bolted up and ran to both of them.

"What happened?" She grabbed Hinami, inspecting her, "Kaneki… " her voice rose to a growl.

"The….the….CCG… they killed Hinami's mother!" His eyes bulged.

"What?! And you didn't stop them?" Korua was filled with rage.

"I… I… had to stop Hinami from jumping in and ending up like her mother… " Kaneki looked disappointed in himself, scared, and furious at the same time.

Korua immediately bent to her knees and brought Hinami towards her. Hinami was sobbing hard into Korua's uniform, but she didn't care.

"It'll be alright… shhh….shh….I understand how you feel….you're not alone." Korua's voice mended with Hinami's now softer sobs, and soon Hinami was just sniffling.

Enji had run down by then and so had Yoshimura. Kaya came out of thin air. As Korua was still comforting Hinami, Kaneki told Yoshimura and the other workers what had happened All of them had dark expressions on their faces. Someone opened the door and everyone jolted up. A man with glasses and messy hazelnut hair. Yoshimura walked up to greet him.

"Nishio, good that you're here. Can you take Hinami upstairs? We'll meet up there later, but for now… " Nishio nodded and took her upstairs while Yoshimura, and Enji went back to listening to Kaneki.

Nishio, Korua thought, I know that name, ah, yes, Orochi, Serpent. Mentioned several times within CCG Officers and Anteiku members. Different shifts from me too… weird. Surprised I never met him until now…

"Those punk ass bastards. They think they're such good people." Korua muttered.

"We need to teach them a listen. Kick their little-." Yoshimura shushed Nishio before he could go on..

"We need to consider everything. Every little detail." Yoshimura said, stopping Korua from thinking of how to return what they did.

"Hinami, can you tell us what the officers looked like? That way we might have an advantage." Yoshimura asked Hinami, who was cowering next to Korua.

"White hair… crazy eyes… wild… just wild… " Hinami paused,"The other one… young… fit and broad… black hair… serious… so serious."

"First Class Officer Mado, and Amon, his partner. I'd bet my money on it." Yoshimura tapped his waist. Thinking, obviously. In the end, he sighed; a sign Korua took as him giving up.

"Can't we just go after them? They can't have gone far." Korua tried not to mention Hinami's mom.

"Of course not. They have the power to do what they did. How will we stand against them?" hazel-mess (her idea of Nishio) was beating around the bush as well.

"We can at least t-try. I mean Nishio brings up a good point but we have numbers and they don't know what some of us do. " Kaneki popped out, getting a cup of coffee for Hinami. Sighing, Kaya plopped into a chair, Yoshimura leaned against the window, and Korua sat against a table. Rubbing her temples, Korua thought of how she felt when all this happened to her five years ago.

"Mom! We need to get back in!" Korua tugged onto her mom's shirt.

"Honey! I can handle this! You don't need to worry! Just blend with the people like I taught you. It'll be alright." Korua's mom was backing out, hiding from the officers.

She looked at her mom with big, scared, eyes. "Don't be scared, you need to be strong when the pressure cracks." Her mom unleashed her kagune, red, long, and deadly; just like Korua's. Korua looked at her mother again. Through a reassuring nod from her mother, Korua ran into the streets of the 22nd Ward, filled with unsuspecting people. Out of the alley, casually, she calmed down, panting and sweaty, but calmed. She turned around, expecting to see her mom running towards her, face lightened up. She didn't see that. She didn't see her mom at all. Korua knew something was wrong. Korua turned and ran back into the alley, pushing into the some people. Looking down, she saw her mom, barely fending off not two, but three officers. Korua ran towards her, with her kagune open as well. As she got closer, she could see her mom's shirt soaking with blood and the officers were getting more cocky.

"Well, well. We finally have caught the Octopus." one of the officers walked up towards Korua's mom.

"And we got the child too. We can stop the legacy." all the officers laughed at that.

"Korua… " her mom looked at her through messy hair and fogged glasses. As her mom's eyes shone slightly, Korua saw the opportunity. She lunged at the officer, going through his stomach with her now bloody rinkaku. He dropped his quinque. The airborne officer looked down at his comrades, but not before he was slammed to the ground. Korua dragged him back up and brought down her teeth into his side, ripping out flesh and chewing it down. She thrust the dead man in front of her mom, insisting her to eat it.

"Ahhh!" the officers attacked Korua's mom, stabbing her. Korua dropped the officer and jumped onto the officers. With three of her rinkaku arms, she pierced an officer, and with another three, the other officer, while protecting her mom with the last two. After they were dead, she both dropped them ungraciously. After they were both dead, Korua fell to her knees, cradling her mom's head.

"You'll be alright," she sobbed, "it'll be… alright… alright."

Her mom reached for her face. Stroking the side of her wet cheek. With soft eyes, Korua's mom looked up towards her daughter. "You're strong. Enough to be without me. Just… promise me… you won't forget me."

"I won't… I won't… " Grabbing her mom's hand as it slipped down. Knowing, that at that very moment, her mom lifted up, towards a place, a better place. But without Korua. And then, she looked up at the cloudy sky, in an alley with four dead bodies, no help and a tear-stained face; Korua screamed.

Opening her eyes, Korua stopped reliving that moment. As she leveled her eyes with everyone else's, she saw that they were still talking. Soon, they stopped, as if they were on an agreement, thinking that Korua was listening to them.

"So, Yoshimura, what do you think we should do about those officers after all?" Kaya asked him, serious and somber.

At a loss for words, Yoshimura said: "I… don't know."


	11. Counterattack

X

 _Counterattack_

"Bullshit." Korua said.

"You're bullshit." Nishio countered.

"Bitch, you really wanna start a fight wi-"

"You two, shut up! This is important." Kaya growled. They silenced as Yoshimura sighed, looking out the window for a moment.

Korua knew that Yoshimura wouldn't have the audacity to kill the Doves, but she also knew that he was angry. Anger in people can make up for the audacity in many cases.

"If Mado and Amon die, they can't hurt any more people in this Ward or any other, Yoshimura. Please, think about that." Korua added more desperation in her voice than she wished, but it worked. He exhaled a deep breath, as if he'd been holding it since Nishio came.

"The Doves know something's up, which is why they're circling in on the 20th Ward and killing them aren't gonna make it any better. There must be another way… "

"Well letting them live isn't gonna help us in any way!" Nishio was riled up, along with Enji. Kaya kept a straight face, but her face darkened, probably thinking of the outcomes that would come out of their actions.

"I say we kill 'em. We have plenty of skilled fighters in this room. And the CCG will most likely blame Aogiri. They use Aogiri like a scapegoat." Korua remarked. Aogiri was well known as a powerful group consisting of ghouls residing in Tokyo. No one really knows how it started, but all Korua needed to know was that the CCG would gladly use them to take the blame if there were any… unanswered deaths.

"Yoshimura, to be honest, the girl's right," Korua was surprised. Kaya, usually composed and analytical seemed set on going out with this plan.

"Ah… well I guess, there's really no chance I can change your minds at this point." his eyes sweeped the entire room, meeting the eyes of Anteikus members.

"Okay, so it's settled that we will, but we don't have a plan." everyone moved their eyes towards her as Korua moved on, getting straight to the point.

"We'll have to send skilled, ghouls. These officers aren't 'nobodies', people know them. Mado, renowned for his brutality should be watched especially." Kaya added.

Korua cleans her glasses with the edge of her uniform apron. The entire room was silent until Nishio spoke again.

"But who would go to kill him?" his tone is serious and logical.

"Kaneki, of course, well, with his consent." Enji stated..

"B-but he's new!" Korua was surprised. Kaneki had intellect, but she had never _actually_ seen his power.

"You're new, too girl." Nishio mentioned.

"Not like that! You know what I'm talking about, I mean can't you smell it?"

"Of course, but that comes with good reason."

"Oh yeah, like what?!" Korua asked, annoyed with this guy and she barely even knew him.

He turned to Yoshimura. "So, you haven't even told her? I thought she came here a while ago."

"Came roughly the same time Kaneki did. Maybe a little later" Enji interrupted. Korua was confused with everything they were talking about. How could a ghoul be _new_ at being a _ghoul,_ much less a grown one?! That was like saying an adult bird didn't know how to fly (with several exceptions).

"Korua, there have been rumors going around about the murder of an S-Rated ghoul known as Binge Eater. I do hope Uta has mentioned that to you in the past." Yoshimura began. He had in fact, mostly just to keep her in after curfew and stay out of sight. Korua had encountered Binge Eater several years ago, while living on the run in the 17th Ward, searching for Uta. Needless to say, Korua hadn't expected someone like Binge to die in such a short amount of time.

"Her name was Rize. And she died at the hands of Kaneki Ken."

"Kaneki?! How- what- when-?" Korua was at a loss for words. She looked around at everyone, the disbelief on her face clear.

"Okay now you're just exaggerating, old man." Nishio butted in, scratching the back of his neck, "I mean, he ain't weak, but Rize wouldn't have died because of _him_ when they met."

Within the next few minutes Korua got the update about how Rize was crushed by several tons of construction beams and how Kaneki was stuck with her. Yoshimura moved on to the organ transplant and the successful creation of an artificial one-eyed ghoul. At that time everyone took a short glance at Korua, all knowing that she was unique from day one of her life. As he talked about Kaneki's first appearance of power Nishio muttered small remarks like "Screw off old man," and several other quite curses.

"So Kaneki isn't originally a ghoul and I got mixed up into this because Uta wants to keep me 'safe' from the Doves?" Korua was even more confused as to why Yoshimura wanted her here. It's not like Korua could _teach_ Kaneki to be a One-eyed Ghoul, much less an artificial one. When she just got here, Korua thought it was to keep her safe, but she should've known Uta didn't think like that.

"You're here because rumours that the fabled _Arachnid_ was spotted in the 4th Ward have reached the CCG and Uta thought it would've been good to take you to the people he trusted most." Enji said. He clearly knew a lot of information, maybe everybody else knew all about the situation, even Hinami. Korua raised her hands in the air, exasperated.

"Guilty, as charged." she replied. Korua was tired of the whole Arachnid thing and just wanted to help Hinami, so she shut up. "We can talk about this another time, but please, Enji, can we move on to the more immediate problem?"

There was little progress after that, and despite the fact that there were many capable ghouls at Anteiku, there wasn't a possible situation that _wouldn't_ call to the attention of the CCG. Korua rubbed her eyes. Even if someone died, it was more normal for a ghoul than it would ever be for a normal human being and Korua couldn't help being a bit exhausted. The last few days had surely taken its toll on her, and if this issue with the Doves wasn't settled soon, she'd probably have to deal with much more restless nights.

Almost out of nowhere, the sound of footsteps came, filling the room. A dull _thud_ could be heard, as someone hit the door, not knowing it was closed. It was quickly opened by a disheveled Touka, eyes filled with alarm and worry. Yoshimura advanced towards her, saying, "What happened, Touka?". She practically charged at him, grabbing his arm, her knuckles turning white.

"She's gone! Gone-" Touka's voice rose, practically shrieking, "Hinami! The news article, it was on the table- in the room she was in!"

Nishio wrenched her off of Yoshimura before Touka could ramble anymore. Korua rushed towards all three of them, shaking Touka while Nishio held her back.

"What news article!?" Korua shouted at Touka, holding Touka's head between her hands, focusing her.

"Ha… ha… ," Touka breathed deeply, her throat parched, "The news article of the dead CCG operative. The one… I killed, Kusaba. I think- know, she ran. We have to find her!"

"Keep your head on your neck, she'll be fine." Korua said, unconvincingly, "Where's Kaneki?! Isn't he with you?"

"He's out for now, but he'll be back for shift, most likely." Yoshimura answered, melodramatic.

"Touka, Amon and Mado will be taken care of, but don't make an hasty advances." Enji tried to reassured Touka, who was prepared to leave.

"I'll make sure that they're taken care of right now." she replied. Her eyes were practically piercing, all the colors reflecting sharpened to knife-like points.

Touka sprunt out of the room, running down the stairs, grabbing her coat on the way. No one really made an attempt to run after her since it was obvious that she was looking for Hinami, but Korua was more worried about what the Doves would do if they found either of them. Yoshimura called Kaneki on the landline phone a couple times, until he finally picked up. After a series of people yelling into the phone, explaining fractions of the story piling up on itself, Kaneki ended the call, agreeing to find them.

"You better come back in one piece, Hinami. You've dragged two poor souls down with you, and you sure as hell better bring them back." Enji said to no one, glancing out the window.

Korua was filled with despair. Down at the bottom of her stomach, something resided there. She felt something bad coming, real bad. Shaking her head, Korua ignored the thought. She was usually wrong anyways.


	12. Perspective

XI

 _Perspective_

"Hey, Okashina, they're finally letting us see the scene." Orokamono walked up to Okashina, who just got in past the CCG gates for this morning's work. She was struggling to not snap out at Orokamono for telling her so early. He, of all people, should know not to talk to her before the coffee kicked in. The coffee from that shop she went to a couple days ago, Anteiku, was good so she paid another visit along with the interesting waitress working there. Kind and curious as always, although Okashina could tell something was off with the girl.

"Are you alright young lady?" Okashina asked the girl after she noticed going into the bathroom for the second time.

"Oh, yes. Thank you officer for asking. Just studying late…" she murmured, adjusting the glasses slipping on her face.

"Well, okay, but don't stress yourself out too much."

"Thank you, officer. Enjoy your coffee." And with that the girl politely moved towards the next customer, leaving Okashina with her thoughts.

Okashina's eyes wandered off to the girl, tracing her footsteps and motions. The girl had a slight stride when she walked, comparable to a soccer player. Okashina couldn't see if she had any muscle on her legs under the cafe uniform but there was hints of it on her arms. She was skinny, long neck, ideal height for an Operative (the girl did mention wanting to work for CCG). Her fingers were uncannily long and thin compared to her palms. She stopped staring at the girl like a creep,

"Well now my coffee's cold. For fucks sake, I don't have time for this." she muttered to herself. Calling over another server, Okashina handed the bowtie-wearing waiter the money and thanked him for the coffee.

Looking back at Orokamono and shaking away the recent memory, she looked up to meet eye to eye with the tall Operative.

"Sounds great. Could you tell me what time we're going?" she asked her partner.

"As soon as possible, so I'd say," he glanced down at his watch, "It's 8:50 so I'll be done with my morning work by 10:20. I'll meet up at your office a couple minutes before we leave."

"Okay, well, I'll see you then. Do I need to bring my Case?"

"No, you'll just intimidate the people."

Okashina scoffed. "As if a smushed body isn't already enough to scare someone. I'm gonna bring it, you should too. It's precautionary." Orokamono nodded and they split from their, heading off to their offices, starting another day of work.

"10:20. Okay. Honestly though, how can you tell that she's back, I mean, it's a _smushed body_ … " by then Okashina was at the elevator and she pressed the button. She stood on the heels of her feet and rocked back and forth slightly while the elevator came down from the 23rd floor all the way down to the 1st.

"Shit. I don't have any work to do. This job can be really bipolar sometimes. I'm killing people one day and making paper airplanes the next."

"Okashina, wake up," Orokamono sighed, giving up on shaking her awake; there wasn't any time for Okashina to be sleeping, "Wake up or I'm leaving without you."

"Go ahead… " her eyes were still closed, drool still coming out of her mouth.

"It's literally been an hour how have you gone into R.E.M.?"

"I'm talented."

"Well we need to use your _other_ talent and get to the scene." Not waiting for a reply he pulled Okashina by her shirt collar all the way out of her office space until she wrenched his fingers off.

"Look how much you stretched out my shirt, you ass!" Okashina tried to look at how much damage Orokamono did to her dress shirt, trying to maneuver her neck and arms into some twisted formation.

"Let's go, I'm serious." This time Okashina listened to him. They made it down to the lobby without too much banter and Orokamono gestured to the door. They checked out of the office building, signing that they had an important assignment based on research.

After that they walked into the parking lot and Orokamono turned on his car; a sleek, gray, Audi. He walked to the trunk, narrow, small, and placed his gray coat into it, with his suitcase next to it. Okashina was still gaping at the shiny car.

"Can CCG Special Operatives afford this?!" she wiped the small drop of saliva from the corner of her mouth and walked to the other car door.

Okashina walked with a little more confidence, imagining what it would be like to drive this car everyday, have people gape at the her the way she did to the car.

"Ikkaku!" Orokamono halted her thoughts, "get in quickly, remember we don't have forever." She nodded and briskly sat down into the leather chair of the passenger seat.

Orokamono quickly joined her, the sound of jingling from the keys hanging on his finger. Quickly he sat down in the driver's seat. Placing the keys in the keyhole and turning it with a twist of his wrist, Orokamono settled down back into his seat and placed his foot on the pedal. Once they got out of the parking lot, he drove through the clusters of cars on the road, heading towards the death they've been waiting to look at for days.

"It's not really the body itself but the unique marks left by the kagune on the quinque case which they found in the dumpster next to the body." Orokamono elaborated. Okashina would describe the emotion he gave off as hyped. _But who would be hyped for this?_ She thought. They got to the scene a bit earlier than expected and the body was gone, probably taken to a morgue. There were long scratch marks across the narrow walls of the alley. Dried blood was spattered on the left wall, the ghoul seemed to be walking towards the right wall before they were confronted. A quick turn, a couple minutes, and the operative's dead. But, clearly there was a struggle for space during the fight.

"Everything happens in an alley, don't you think Orokamono?"

"That would be an exaggeration for literal terms, but metaphorically, I'd have to agree." Okashina scoffed at his response. Orokamono didn't notice her and instead he walked over past the police tape.

"Look at these scratch marks, they're so deep! It's unnatural. The kagune has a shark skin-like texture, I mean just look at this… " Orokamono rambled. Okashina sensed that there was a hint of disgust in his voice.

Instead of pondering over it, Okashina came over to her partner who was already feeling the roughness of the scratches. They were long and uneven and she could see that there were marks on both walls. Some of the scratches had blood on top of them, which could tell an investigator which attacks came first and whatnot. And just like her partner said, some of the long gashes on the walls had smaller, deeper cuts. Like shark skin.

"Is the crushed case still here?" Okashina asked. That was the most vital aspect in this kind of situation. Although the amount of information on this investigation was scarce the case was still intact and that was a mistake, on the ghoul's part. A man wearing a biohazard suit or something resembling it came towards Okashina and Orokamono holding a crushed gray briefcase with both of his hands. It was practically flattened in the middle and the handhold was also crushed.

"Looks like we've got ourselves a strategist." Orokamono blew a low whistle.

"A strategist wouldn't have left the case in the first place, Orokamono; think." Okashina retorted. Putting on a pair of gloves the biohazard suit man gave her, she slowly pried the case open.

"A basic quinque: Scorpion. Kind of like that Juuzou-boys except longer and more curved at the end. He was a regular kind of CCG Operative, poor soul didn't know what he had coming." Okashina almost laughed at the thought of seeing him just walking up to this ghoul, thinking he stood a chance.

"Keep your composure, Ikkaku." Her partner settled a hand on her shoulder. Nodding ahead, they both saw that a new piece of evidence had been found and started to walk over there, leaving the case for someone in a biohazard suit to take it.

"Ah good, I hoped that I wouldn't have had to call you over here," an investigator gestured towards them both to come a bit quicker to him. Okashina hadn't seen him before, but she didn't really care at the moment, "We've found a new piece of information. It's actually a photograph that we found in an article about a ghoul attack several years ago and a replica photograph from the CCG Images Database from a couple days before the release of the article. They seem to be photographs of kagune marks left by Arachnid, Rank SS at the battlegrounds."

"Honestly, a ghoul like her doesn't deserve a rank like SS… " Orokamono murmured, so quiet only Okashina could hear. From the description from the battle before Arachnid disappeared, Okashina kind of had to agree with Orokamono though, but compared to many of the ghouls now, she was above average at least.

"Stop being bitter and let's take a look at pictures. Have you compared them to the ones on the walls?" Okashina asked.

"We have taken photos of the ones on the walls but I haven't examined them yet. Would you like to see them as well?" the man pointed his hand towards a photo, the image faced down. Both Okashina and Orokamono nodded and the man flipped the photo over, placing it next to the images from the past.

The images were almost identical. Besides several fringed scratches that appeared on the picture taken minutes before and deeper cuts in the one from several years ago, Okashina wouldn't have noticed anything.

"I believe we've got a spider to catch." the man's mouth cracked into a sly smile. Okashina returned it with a broad grin.

Finally, a development.


	13. Ah, I Woke Up Too Early

XII

"Ah, I Woke Up Too Early"

Korua turned the little light on in her vintage alarm clock. The hands said 5:40 but she felt as if she slept for hours more than the meager six she got. She turned the light off on her clock and sat up straight with surprising speed from someone who just woke up. The sky was still dark and without her glasses, Korua couldn't tell whether the sun was rising or not. Remembering what time it was, Korua layed back down onto the floor and covered her face with her blanket, trying to go back to sleep.

The clock said 6:20 am and Korua was arguing with herself on whether iKon or WINNER was a better band (Korua had to keep some Korean ties). Tired, but now wideawake, Korua resorted to occupying herself with her own thoughts; it had endless possibilities and required little effort. With the things that happened yesterday, Korua assumed that Kaneki and Touka had found Hinami, but she fell asleep too early to see them return. If they returned.

Shaking the thought away, Korua moved onto something else.

Her eyes drifted to the desk in her room, messy and covered in eraser bits, her computer resting against the far side of the desk. Korua couldn't even remember how she got her desk so messy or how long she'd been living at Anteiku, but it couldn't have been a week. Her eyes trailed to her suitcase, sprawled on the ground. There wasn't any point in taking her clothes out really so just let them lay there like that; a messed heap inside her suitcase. Her uniform was tossed into a corner of her room and instead she wore a simple university t-shirt (Seoul National) that she got a couple years ago, along with some random shorts. Her dad got it for her when she was 13 but she liked to wear baggy clothes back then so it still fit her now..

She teared up a bit just thinking about Korea and her dad.

Her mind strayed back to Hinami. _I should probably check on them all, to see if they're alive. Right?_ Korua quickly stood up but ended up needing to use her desk as support. Her head ached with sudden pain and she could see spots come in and out of her vision. Sitting back on the floor, holding her head in one hand, she started to wonder, did all of this crazy shit happen because she was here? What if Uta just sent her here so he could get rid of her? Oh no. No. That would be the worst.

A voice started talking to Korua, but there was no one with her. It was the kind of voice that came from your head, the kind of voice that came when you read in your head but had no certain tone.

" _Nobody loves you…"_ the voice came all sing-songy and it reminded Korua of a lyric in a Green Day song.

" _You're a nuisance to this world, you know that?"_ the voice's tone suddenly became harsh, " _You, you,_ selfish _-"_

"Stop… " Korua whispered to no one.

" _Oh you don't like it, do you? Well then. Make. It. Stop. It's all in your head after all…"_ it hissed at her, sounding disgusted with every aspect of Korua.

"I can't stop it… and you know that… " Korua gritted her teeth, the tears from before starting to well up.

" _Well I'm you, and you're me so stop it or god forbid I'll keep on going. Oh, that got you to shut up? You're weaker than I thought, you can't even stand up to yourself. Huh, no wonder you couldn't save your mom."_ the voice was exasperated.

" _Oh? You've nothing to say to that, huh. Well,"_ the voice paused in satire glee, " _Let me continue."_ keeping up to it's retched promise, Korua's head became filled with the words of the voice.

"Shut up…shut up, shutupshu-" She layed on her mat, facing the ceiling, running her fingers through her hair, stopping midway and clutching onto it. Korua shook her head trying to stop the talking, still holding her hair in an iron grip. Her breath shortened and it seemed like her entire body couldn't keep up.

"No…no…no…!" Korua tried to deny the voice- her voice. Her horrible. Disgusting. Voice. Before she could continue, Korua stopped to see that Kaya had opened the door to her room. Quickly, she sat up from the floor.

"Sorry, Korua. I was just looking for the supplies closet and I got the door across the hall… " she didn't need to finish.

"Yeah it's no problem. I'm actually relieved that you came in, having a little battle with myself." Korua's hands playfully made small punching motions.

"Ah, got it. Guilt or wishing you were better?" Korua was surprised. No one ever really tried to talk to her about it, but then again, the only person she lived with for a while was Uta.

"Both… " Korua shifted her weight on the floor to a more comfortable position. The tension between the two of them was making it hard for her to even breathe, thinking that any sound would make an unbelievably loud noise. Kaya came into the room, probably thinking that whatever she needed in the supply closet was less important. She sat herself down onto Korua's mat of a bed.

"Mm, well from what I've been through, you won't ever be able to keep that guy in your head quiet." Kaya tapped the temple of her head.

"Well, that's great…"

"But, really you should use it as, um, fuel. Use that voice to fuel your pursuits," before Korua could ask what the heck that all even meant Kaya continued, "It tells you you're not as good as you should be? Make yourself better. It tells you you're a piece of shit? Be the best shit the world has ever seen." Korua cracked a smile. She sat up, facing Kaya and feeling a bit better.

"Hmm, I'll keep all that in mind, I think it's gone for now. Probably should head down soon, since the shop should be open by now…" Korua and Kaya both glanced at her clock which read 6:35.

Kaya jolted up. Straightening her tie, Kaya said "Oh, crap! Probably should. Sorry for lack of better advice Korua, but if you need anything…"

"Got it." Korua weakly finger gunned at Kaya who was heading out the door. Before Kaya headed for the supply closet, Korua asked "By the way Kaya. How do you have, for lack of a better word, such good advice?"

Kaya turned to see Kaya looking back at her. "I talk to Touka and Hinami a lot. Also, don't worry. They're sleeping in the room next door."


	14. Ah This Is Great Someone New

XIII

"Ah, This Is Great; Someone New."

Korua had been working since eight after sleeping for a couple more hours and the customer flow had been normal. Thank god. At least something was going smoothly. With the constant buzz of having to do one thing or another, Korua was glad for the daily distraction of being a waitress. After the regular brunch rush hour, Korua got out a washcloth from one of the cabinets. The flow of people would diminish greatly so Korua decided to clean up the place while she could. A couple people came in, leaving hastily. Most didn't seem to be in the mood to talk (probably because they were late for work).

The bell chimed and Korua turned her head expecting to see another dark-circled, grouchy, customer. Instead she found herself staring at a man, tall and sporting purple hair that tipped at the sides of his face. And his suit was, red. Very red. Elegant, borderlining on tacky was Korua's thought of him. His chest expanded as he inhaled with a great amount of drama.

"Ah! Lovely Anteiku!." Korua looked at him, the rag resting on the table that she was cleaning. Her eyebrow raised in disbelief at the amount of outrageousness in his outfit.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle." He bowed slightly at Korua. As she started to reply, Touka was downstairs with Kaneki, both in their uniforms.

"Tsukiyama, is it that time already?" Touka grimaced. Korua was relieved to see that they were both still alive and didn't complain about how they probably left marks on the stairs while coming down.

"Yes, my Touka. Coffee time!," The man known as Tsukiyama looked with inquiring eyes at Korua at Kaneki, "And who are these two specimens?"

"Korua," Korua walked briskly towards Touka and Kaneki, towering over Touka and barely shorter than Kaneki, "and Kaneki."

"My, how wonderful it is to meet you." Tsukiyama reached for Korua's hand, and Korua glanced at Touka. Touka mouthed _Just do it_ and Korua let him take her hand as he seemingly kissed it. He took Kaneki's hand a shook it.

"It seems I've completely forgotten a proper introduction! Forgive me, I'm just ecstatic to see that this little coffee shop has gotten two new people. My name is Shuu Tsukiyama, sole heir of the Tsukiyama Estate!" He proudly said.

Korua's mind set to work. Tsukiyama Estate; she's heard of that place. But when? She'd never been there, and never met anyone connected to the place. Her mother mentioned that place, along with something called the Ghoul Restaurant. Her mother called it a modern Colosseum; messy and dramatic..

Korua could clearly see what her mother meant if this Tsukiyama had anything to do with the restaurant.

"Korua, Kaneki, I'd like to speak with both of you, a conversation of introductions if you will." Tsukiyama said. He was polite and there didn't seem to be any red flags so far.

"I'll be upstairs, Tsukiyama. Don't cause any trouble." Touka eyed him, as she went upstairs. As Tsukiyama heard Touka's door close, he sat down at the table Korua was cleaning a couple minutes ago. Kaneki sat in the chair across of him, and Korua brought over a chair.

"So, how is Anteiku for both of you?"

"It's fine, and the people are nice. I haven't been here for a while, so…" Kaneki was clearly feeling awkward in this situation.

"Korua, how about you, quiet rose?"

"Oh, this place is nice, coffee is good, people are ok, customers are good…uhh, yeah…?" She shrugged. Was there really anything else she could've said? Probably.

"Kaneki, would you mind getting the three of us coffee?" Tsukiyama asked, politely again.

"Sure, is it okay if it's black?" Kaneki, genuinely relieved he could be excused from this, even if only for several minutes. After Kaneki disappeared into the back of Anteiku, Tsukiyama turned to Korua, in sudden seriousness. With a sly smile, he flashed her a look.

"You're a ghoul, I can tell," Tsukiyama said. Korua was caught off guard and before she could say anything stupid, he continued, "Don't worry, small lily. I'm one too and it is quite obvious. Would Yoshimura really let a human work here?"

His wolfish grin grew wider as he showed her his activated kagune eyes, in a brief moment. In a blink it was there, plain and bold for the whole world to see. With another blink, it was gone.

"See, it's all good. But I could tell even without your job, Korua," Korua shifted in her chair. He said her name so, gross; it made her uncomfortable. But she had a feeling that he made a lot of people uncomfortable, "Your eyes are hollow, anyone could see it if they tried."

"Yeah…" she looked down slightly at her hands.

"Sorry it took so long!" Kaneki brought a tray, three coffees, all pitch black.

"Thank you so much, monsieur," Tsukiyama delicately sipped on his coffee (could someone even sip something _delicately_ ), "Mmmm, lovely taste, Kaneki. The man must've taught you well."

"Ah, thank you, sir. But, I guess I've got to make it taste good, being that it's the only thing I can _taste_." Kaneki replied with a bittersweet tone. He must've figured out Tsukiyama was a ghoul along the way (smarter than Korua expected), and Korua could only guess that Kaneki still hadn't gotten over the whole ghoul thing.

After finishing his coffee, Tsukiyama stood up dramatically. "Well, I must be off! Have a dinner party to plan, a very important dinner party." he said, ending sing-songy.

After Tsukiyama left, Touka and Yoshimura came down. Touka sighed, slouched her back against the wall closest to the door leading to the second floor.

"I _hate_ that guy. He's so… eugh." Touka shuddered.

"Seems like a creep." Korua replied.

"Maybe a stalker?" Touka asked.

"Nah, doesn't seem like the inconspicuous type."

"Murderer?" Kaneki's eyes widened a bit.

"He's a ghoul. Obviously, but what else?"

"Pedo?" Kaneki stared at Korua in disbelief.

"Pedo? Hmm…"

"Pedo." They both said in unison.

"Never mind him, you guys are on your break. Enjoy it." Yoshimura let them go, simultaneously ending the conversation.

As Kaneki was walking upstairs in order to change, Touka reached for his arm, "Kaneki, don't get too buddy-buddy with that guy, alright?".

Kaneki just nodded. Five minutes after, he was leaving out, with a book in hand; Monochrome Rainbow. Korua was in her room, pulling her head through a grey sweater, too busy to notice him leave. She had on black skinny jeans, adding to her depressing look. Grabbing her bag, Korua put a set of sketching pencils, a worn-down eraser, and a used drawing pad inside. Korua left the store with her head down, Googling whether there were any gardens near by or not.


	15. Ah, I Didn't Expect Him To Die Though

"Ah, I didn't expect him to die, though."

Okashina rested in the plush leather chair as she watched the news report with all three of her roommates (conveniently her coworkers as well).

" _During a press conference, Washuu Yoshitoki confirmed that the ghoul named_ Arachnid _has returned. During her peak several years ago, she was considered an S-rated ghoul until her final retaliation against the CCG, leaving 12 CCG Officers dead. Currently_ Arachnid _is considered an SS-rated ghoul."_ a news reporter said. It was a live broadcast and Okashina had left with her housemates together in order to watch the broadcast at their house. Conveniently, they all worked for the CCG and (unlike most roommates) were friendly with each other.

The house was a standard two-story home, slightly narrow but making up with its length. A small private deck had accompanied one of the two bedrooms and there was a small lawn surrounding the home. The living room itself was an organized mess. Dress shirts and jeans were drying on the single treadmill and hanging from a cheap drying rack. The couch and chairs were matching, but set up in an unorganized way, probably moved more times than Okashina could count. The any 2ft area from the TV was clean, but as you moved farther away, signs of a mess showed more and more.

Okashina shared her bedroom with one other person. The room by itself was perfectly symmetrical and there were already two beds when they all moved in. A desk accompanied each bed and Okashina had tried to keep it as tidy as possible, failing within the second week. There wasn't too much mess in her room, as she regularly threw out trash (her roommate was lowkey a clean freak, but they were good friends).

"We've already got so much going on, honestly it's probably just a copycat ghoul," one woman said. She had straight hair and bangs resting across her face. Slowly she loudly sipped on the bubble tea she had bought earlier.

"But, hey, the gropers will be too scared to lay a hand on another woman." another of Okashina's roommates said, merging the "gropers" and "will" into "gropers'll". All four of them laughed at that before returning their attention to the TV.

" _Mr. Washuu has stated that the CCG will not devote their resources to_ Arachnid _, stating that the ghoul is not of top priority. Please be careful when walking through the streets late at night, especially those of you in the 20th Ward. CCG Officers will be on stricter patrol, on the lookout for any ghoul, but do not be too alarmed. Thank you."_ the news broadcast ended and Okashina flipped through the channels before settling on a trashy reality TV show from America.

In the middle of the episode, one of Okashina's roommates (the one with the blunt bangs) had gotten a phone call and she quietly left the room, already answering the call. She returned her attention back to the TV, until one of her roommates said, "Karin, what happened?" the girl had returned from her phone call on the verge of tears. Her pace quickened until she fell into a hug with the person who asked, sobbing into her shoulder. Okashina and her other roommate rushed over, trying to comfort Karin.

"Oh, it's all going to hell," she exclaimed in between tears, "I feared that this would happen, goodness." Her sobs had already started to diminish a bit, but it was still hard for her to levelly talk.

"Aw, man," Okashina said while patting on her back rhythmically, "But what happened?"

"It's Mado. He's dead. No, no, I expected this to happen soon enough. Mado was always one of rash decisions. But still…" Karin said after seeing their faces of understanding and sympathy. Of course Karin would be sad to hear of his death though: they had been partners before Mado had become assigned to Amon. "Of course I'll have to prepare for the funeral… Okashina, Risha, Kerou, are you going to go?"

Okashina hesitated before answering. She had never really known Mado, but had heard many stories about his ghoul fetish (not really a fetish but she didn't think "obsession" was the right word). But, with Karin right in front of her, how could she say no?

"I'll go, even if only to just give you multiple support," Okashina said, "Of course, Mado was an amazing investigator and deserves to be properly buried in all his glory." She didn't know if that was the right thing to say after it came out of her mouth.

"Of course I'll go. I did work with him on some of the larger missions so it would only be suitable if I were to see him one last time." Risha said. She was the oldest out of all them and probably was used to funerals by now, but nonetheless Risha pulled off pity flawlessly.

Kerou only solemnly nodded. She was mute, due to an injury she suffered during one of her missions, but could still communicate just fine with body language. That was probably why Okashina and Kerou were friends and roommates. There was a brief period of silence between the four girls until Okashina went over and took the remote before turning the TV off.

"Get some rest Karin, you look like a zombie." Okashina said. Karin nodded, now in a state of daze, her eyes slightly going in and out of focus. The rest of them got up as Karin drifted asleep on the couch, still sniffling a little. Okashina moved the TV remote and pulled the shades on some of the windows as Kerou brought a blanket for Karin. Risha had left to get some groceries (or at least Okashina thought since the woman had quietly left the home with her wallet and keys).

Kerou had gone into their room, probably to clean up some of Okashina's mess.

Making use of the time, Okashina headed into shared office room. It was one of the largest rooms in the home, sporting two side-by-side desks, each with their own desktop. They were decorated almost identically, with a cork board hanging above the desk and in front of the computer along with several shelving compartments. The only difference was how the wall lamps were placed on opposite sides of the desk (left side desk having the lamp on the left wall, etc.).

She turned on one of the two computers and rapidly typed in the password (CCG_is_gr8) before opening up a new tab. Okashina went onto the webpage of the news site they were all watching before and played a clip of the last several minutes of the broadcast.

The reporter had changed from before, "The CCG has been looking into all leads that might give them a clue to Arachnid's plans and/or whereabouts. .From news clippings to internet forums, they're looking through it all. If you or someone you know might have any information, please contact the CCG at 044-2043105 or at . Thank you." the video ended and Okashina sat back in a bit of stunned silence.

The CCG was really pulling some strings in this investigation. Scouring through internet forums (that are probably full of crap) was a bit of a stretch, but Okashina decided to see what was going on herself.

"Let's see what's going on...if the CCG's so excited about it." she muttered to herself, pulling up one of the more well-known, ghoul conspiracy forums. She quickly created a new account, going under the name of "inconspicuous_trustme".

" _I know that Arachnid had done that murder."_ one person (genjiissexy) started. Okashina had scrolled to a thread from a couple days ago.

" _Of course. It's obvious, but the law can't prove it._ " someone (ghoulh8r_) responded.

" _But there IS. I saw some leaked photos of the crime scene… wanna see them?"_ (genjiissexy). Okashina was shocked to see that close to 100 people had responded to that person's single question with a "yes". She scrolled down more to see that there were indeed several pictures uploaded, but what surprised her the most was that they _weren't_ fakes. The pictures were from the crime scene, but someone out of the police force had taken it.

" _Just like the marks from to years ago. Its gotta be that bitch Arachnid."_ Okashina slightly cringed at the poor grammar, but it was the internet. Her focused returned back to the images and saw that another person had uploaded a picture of the Arachnid crime scene two years ago. The marks in the walls were almost identical, the only difference being that the cuts in the walls were deeper from the older picture and that there was more blood splatter.

" _It is her. Finally, the CCG's got there shit together with this investigation. Don't want it ending up like last time."_ Despite the grammar mistake, Okashina had to agree with this person. She almost logged off of the account she had made, until an question had formed in her head, blossoming with each keystroke.

Satisfied, Okashina pressed "Enter" and logged off. It would be interesting to see the responses she would get, but what Okashina didn't predict was how many people were also asking if the CCG would catch Arachnid this time.

*Hi, guys, it's the author here. Wow, it feels good to be back on this story. I've just been super busy with school and everything. It's my first fiction, but I appreciate that people enjoy it! I do hope that I can continue to gain some support for this story (I will try to become better with managing chapter-uploading). If there are any mistakes I have made in this chapter or any other chapters, please tell me since the other author of this fic and I haven't been communicating a lot. Check out my other fic (it's BNHA) and any support and criticism is appreciated.


	16. Ah, this was a Mistake

XV

"Ah, I this was a Mistake"

"Ghoul Restaurant, eh?" A chill ran down Korua's spine, "That wretched hell hole; I've heard too many things about it, Tsukiyama," she chided, "Makes _me_ want to barf."

Korua had originally planned on spending her day at a cafe, hoping to relax herself when she still could. Instead she found herself trailing behind Shuu Tsukiyama, who she found conspicuously walking through a narrow alley. She stopped following him once he walked inside a room through a practically invisible door.

It was close to 5:20 pm (she'd been out for two or so hours now), and Korua had waited for him to come out for thirty minutes before seeing that the dingy light hanging above the door had been turned on. Korua walked back out of the alley, seeing if there was another entrance on the more open side of the building. She had noticed that people had started to trickle into the Ghoul Restaurant and it didn't take long for Korua to figure out what Tsukiyama's "dinner party" was.

She had lodged herself between the side of a dumpster and the wall of the alley, making sure that the smell of her was obscured and she was invisible. The smell was putrid, with the constant smell of an unknown, yet familiar smell, like a mix between cold soup, fresh mulch, and a Febreze plug-in. The smell was worth than it sounded, but it did a good job of covering her scent. By now, Korua was becoming impatient and had been hesitating on whether or not she should go into the restaurant.

More and more people had started to come to the restaurant and Korua was starting to become a bit interested herself. How big of an attraction was this Ghoul Restaurant? The place was infamous among the ghoul community, but it was an invite-only kind of event. Nonetheless, Korua planned on crashing it, partially to succumb her curiosity and partially to see what kind of monster Tsukiyama really was (so basically all just because of her curiosity). She had nearly been caught sneaking in when she had stood up from her little nook, only to find herself glancing up at several people making a turn into the alley. Thankfully they were just some teen druggies and they didn't ask any questions, just offered her a blunt (Korua refused, but she had started to think that whatever was in that restaurant was worthy of a blunt).

Finally, Korua could hear the faint sounds of cheering coming from inside the room. Her temptation got the best of her and she bolted up from her spot, her legs aching from sitting in the same position for so long. Quickly, Korua practically lunged towards the door and pushed herself in before closing the door, a bit too loud. A narrow and dimly lit hallway welcomed her, glowing like the insides of a living monster. Korua walked down the hallway, changing her stance so that she could move away or at anything in lightning speed. She could sense the familiarity of adrenaline rushing through her body, grateful for the almost-nostalgic feeling.

Korua never liked to admit it, but she _liked to kill_. That's how she became Arachnid: killing for the fun. It was never a trait she was proud of as she grew up, but Korua grew to use it as fuel. The thrill she got of crushing bones and feeling victorious was almost addictive and the years when Korua was hiding were hell in the beginning. It hurt not to prowl the streets, knowing that people were scared of her and to have the satisfaction of control out of fear.

The hallway had started to open up and Korua found herself walking in the top of two rows of seats, the other below her similar to the Colosseum in Rome. Facing her was a huge arena, ghouls with masks covering their gleeful faces and clothes that probably cost more than the price on Korua's head.

She silently edged around them in the shadows, praying that they wouldn't be able to smell her. Korua flinched when the entire arena was suddenly filled with enthusiastic cheers.

The fighters had come out.

A particularly fat lady was screaming at the people in the arena. For the first time, Korua tried on the mask Uta had given her and it fit snugly on her face, giving her space to breath and talk while still solidly staying put. She felt giddy like a child on Christmas, with all of the memories and adrenaline flooding through her. But her happiness quickly faded away once she saw the fighters in the ring.

"Kane-kaneki isn't supposed to be here…" She muttered to herself, almost certain that Tsukiyama had brought the boy here. "And I'm guessing Tsukiyama brought him here," She muttered to herself, probably sounding like someone on a hangover (too much adrenaline does bad things, kids).

Looking down into the fighting zone, she could see that Kaneki was facing an abnormally large man, easily five times Kaneki's size. Tsukiyama was standing on a platform, watching them, a tyrant watching the gladiator fight. Korua promised to herself that she would spat on this wretched floor before she left.

"Get that puny boy, you bitch!" The lady screeched.

Korua clenched the end of her sweater until she could feel the heat from her hand through it. She quickly turned her face when Kaneki got thrown against the wall, a bloody imprint left behind. She didn't usually feel disapproving of fights, but this was one she couldn't handle. The man brought out a large sickle from his bag and ran it through Kaneki's body, causing Korua to cover her eyes, breathing hard into the mask.

Before he could pull it out of Kaneki's body, she saw the hint of Kaneki's kagune in his left eye. Korua could see that Kaneki had a found a new source of strength and was shocked to see the man recoil when the scrawny boy landed a punch on him. Tsukiyama's gleeful expression had now changed to something much darker and the audience gasped when Tsukiyama jumped down from his stand, killing Kaneki's opponent with one blow.

The entire room had gone dead silent until Tsukiyama yelled (his gleeful demeanor returning), "I'm sorry everybody, but this young man is now _off the market_! Have this Scrapper instead!"

The audience jeered while Madam A yelled in disappointment at the dead body. Tsukiyama nonchalantly ignored the remarks and politely escorted Kaneki back the way he came from. Korua prayed that the boy would come back in one piece. Realizing, that people were going to start to leave, Korua slipped out of the room from the same door, hoping that no one had picked up her scent during her time watching the fight.

Slowly pulling the mask from her face to her neck, Korua circled the block several times, hoping to find Kaneki wandering on the streets. On her third time around, Korua could see the blinding lights of a sleek, black sedan. She turned her covered her face from the people inside, but saw beforehand that there were three people inside. As the car passed Korua, she turned around to see that one of the two people in the back was limp against the other.

Korua was too tired to care if it was Kaneki or not.

*Okay, so I know I kind of just barfed those last sentences out, but I honestly want to be done with this chapter, please don't hurt me. Sorry for the REALLY late update as well, I know I've been telling you guys I was going to try to update on a more solid schedule, but if any of you guys read my BNHA fanfic, I said that I was going to be a lot slower with updating chapters. Please forgive me, everyone and hope you enjoyed. Also if I had any mechanical errors, just tell me as soon as you can since I didn't proofread this chapter.


	17. Ah, I Guess this is Goodbye

XVI

"Ah, I Guess this is Goodbye"

Korua woke up to the sound of melodramatic cafe music and footsteps from the floor beneath her. She rolled over to see that her clock hands read 8:35. Clearly it was morning, due to the sunlight streaming from her slightly-unshaded window. Silently, Korua rubbed her eyes and ran her fingers through her thick knots of hair.

The memories from last night were starting to focus, but Korua still couldn't remember how she got back to Anteiku. The last thing Korua remembered was clumsily opening the back door with her keys and making her way upstairs; however anything between then and the car weren't clear.

Hopefully she hadn't done anything idiotic.

The soft knock on her door put Korua in a state of hyperfocus, checking that what she was wearing was sensible enough to show in front of another person. Muttering something to the person on the other side of the door while putting on her dirty glasses. Suddenly realizing that there was too much sunlight in the room and pulling the shades back so that only a small glow had come from the window now. Opening the door so quickly that a small gust of wind had blew some hair out of her face.

"Oh, hi Hinami. Is there something important you need to tell me?" Korua said to the little girl.

"If keeping your job is important, then yes. Your shift started an hour ago and I've knocked on your door four separate times," Hinami replied with a seriousness surprising for a girl her age, "Don't worry too much though, Yoshimura understands whatever happened last night." Hinami's happy demeanor had returned and Korua found it hard to believe that this girl had watched her mother die only days before.

"Oh, sh-crap. Right, thank you. I'll happily take part of the next shift to make up for the lost time," Korua had already started to gather her uniform and was halfway towards the bathroom, until she turned back to Hinami, "Uh, just out of curiosity, who's running the shop right now?"

Korua had come down fully washed and dressed within a matter of minutes, only to see that Nishio and Enji manning the shop together. Korua swiftly grabbed a notepad from under the sink and walked towards the nearest table, the classic waitress smile on her face. After gathering the table's order, she made her way back to Enji, who was skillfully making coffees. Nishio had also come back towards the the counter.

"Oh, god, thank the heavens that you're here. I have no idea what the hell I'm doing and-" Nishio blurted. Korua firmly placed her hands on his shoulder, hoping that it would help him calm down, even for a moment.

"Don't worry. Every day I'm here, I have no idea what the fuck I'm doing, but it's fine. No one notices if you know how to play it off." Korua handed off her order to Enji and made her way back to the other customers that hadn't been addressed by Nishio yet. Within 10 minutes, all of the orders had been gathered and the majority of the coffees were served.

"See? It isn't that hard, Nishio. I thought you had worked here longer than I did…" Korua grumbled, tossing a towel on her shoulder and grabbing a bottle of table cleaner from a cabinet. Even though there were still several people drinking their morning coffee, Korua had started to scrub down the crumb-topped tables.

"People these days don't know how to clean up for themselves," she muttered, trying to wipe away a large coffee stain, "gah, how much did this person even spi-" Korua felt an urgent tapping on her shoulder. Nishio was looking out the window in front of the two of them and Korua could see Doves walking through the streets, their gray cases clear as day. The two exchanged a worrisome look, but said nothing.

It wasn't even noon, so seeing the Doves was extremely concerning. From what Korua could see, there were three on the block. Two of them were openly wielding their quinques while the third was putting up...posters?

"Can you read what it says, Nishio?" Korua asked. Even with her glasses, she couldn't make out the words printed onto the poster.

"Ah...I'm not sure you want to know," he held his breath. Korua gave Nishio quick nod of understanding before he continued, "They're starting a citywide search to hunt Arachnid down."

Korua had finished her shift in a state of dread. Her attention had been drawn to the poster and she could see that countless people had noticed the poster. Did the CCG really have to go through all of this trouble to hunt down one ghoul? It was a waste of time and resources; they had no leads on Korua. Or at least none that she knew of.

By then, Yoshimura had come back from his "night errands" with Yomo, who Korua had met on rare occasions. He had already seen the posters and Korua had felt a growing sense of guilt as Yoshimura called her to the room where they had first talked.

"Korua, none of us expected this to happen and I don't want you to feel like you're the problem," Yoshimura started, "however I also want you to understand that this poses a threat, not just to you, but the whole of Anteiku. Even people outside of this cafe are at a risk of being exposed now."

Korua could already tell where this was going to go and she had already started to form a plan in her head. "I do understand, completely. I'll pack my stuff, get out by tonight, maybe head to the seventh w-" Yoshimura cut her off with a swift motion of his hand. It felt as if everything in the room was suspended in time and space, silent and motionless.

"If you're going to leave Anteiku, I'm not going to let you fend for yourself. This isn't just a matter of you running away, it's about putting you in a situation where you can be safe." Yoshimura said. His worrisome had changed to something analytical to the point of scheming and for a moment, Korua could see why the CCG was so scared of him. His skin creased near his eyebrows and the both of them sighed heavily in the quiet room. "I'll call Itori at Helter Skelter, she might be able to cover for you until the whole situation dies down. If you're going to leave tonight, there won't time for you to rest until you reach Helter Skelter, do you understand?" Yoshimura said. Korua nodded, determined to not endanger the only people who've helped her. Up until two weeks ago, Korua had been shoved in the back of a shop and hidden away like an antique piece of furniture. In Anteiku, she felt like a person and no matter what, they weren't going to suffer because of her.

"Yeah, got it. I'm thinking that if I make my way through the 20th Ward all day tomorrow, I can make it to the 14th within 12 hours on foot. After that, I'll work at the bar as an underaged waitress for a couple years, you know, the norm," Korua quickly added, "of course I'm just kidding. But really, I'll try to help Itori out in some way."

"Understand that we'll still be keeping tabs on you. Yomo will meet you at Helter Skelter occasionally and I expect everything to be in one piece every time you two meet…don't start any trouble like you did here." the first hint of annoyance had come out of Yoshimura's voice and Korua could feel her heartbeat start to quicken. It was bad enough that she felt guilty about bringing the Doves and their dumb posters.

"Of course, I'll be out by 11." Korua said. The two of them got up from their seats and she could see the sun's angle start to dip west. How long had they been talking? Korua started to leave the room, heading for her soon-to-be empty bedroom, "Before I forget- thank you. For everything."

The night was dark and Korua immediately started shivering when she opened the bedroom window. For the last several hours she had neatly packed up what clothes she had brought and organized the bedroom, even wiping down the dust in every desk crevice. She was wearing black leggings and a simple gray long sleeve. After fixing her ponytail one last time, Korua quietly rolled out her suitcase from the room, hoping she wouldn't wake up everyone else.

After some struggle, she made it down the stairs and placed her keys to Anteiku on the cafe countertop. Before Korua started tearing up, she harshly pinched her cheeks trying to remind herself of the mission she was on. She slipped on her warmest jacket, a black parka which easily protected her from the harsh wind that greeted her.

This would be the first step of her last escape. Hopefully one that would be more successful than the first. Refusing to remember her old memories, Korua focused on the calming street lights. There were still a sufficient amount of people out and she hoped that the Doves wouldn't notice her walking through the streets. Silently, she closed the door to Anteiku and started to walk on the sidewalk, blocking out the smell of people.

It would be a long 12 hours.

*WOW, it's been forever since I updated this! I am so sorry I've been so behind, I was really preoccupied for the last month or so; however with winter break and all, I'll hopefully be able to more easily publish chapters! I have a feeling that this chapter isn't as well written as I hoped, so if there's any advice you want to give to me I would very much appreciate that. Also, any support in general is highly appreciated (as always, lmao).


	18. Chapter 17

XVII

"When Worlds Collide"

Korua spit out a stream of incoherent words before taking in her surroundings. The bus she was on had abruptly stopped at a traffic light and Korua's head had slightly recoiled. The person next to her didn't notice, absorbed by the game of solitaire they were playing on their phone. The ride couldn't have been more than thirty minutes, but she was thankful for the rest she got.

After a few minutes, the bus had arrived at a large station, probably where multiple bus routes met up. The driver's blaring voice came out of the speaker, "All riders crossing the 20th Ward are advised to leave at this station. Buses going to every ward connected to the 20th will come and go from here."

Korua, along with a flurry of other people, walked off of the bus, many taking medium-sized suitcases from the bus' storage compartment. Dozens of other people were already restlessly waiting at the bus stop and the constant rolling of suitcases calmed her.

"14th Ward bus arrives in two minutes!" a woman's voice said on a speaker. Korua and several others started to line up on the side of the road.

Up ahead, she could see the silhouette of a bus continuously getting bigger and the people around her already started to lift their suitcases. The bus slowly drove past the line of people and she could hear muttered curses coming out from those around her as they walked to where the bus actually stopped.

"Bus drivers...why don't they notice a fu- _fricking_ cluster of people staring at it and not stop there?" a girl grumbled behind Korua.

The bus ride was about as joyful as a damp towel and Korua's energy levels had stooped to an all time low. She walked off at the first stop into the 14th Ward. It seemed to be a completely new city, the people walking on the streets acting differently and the apartment buildings being dirtier. The sidewalks were more packed than Korua expected and it took her almost two hours to find Helter Skelter, cramped between brick buildings and shoved into an alleyway.

Korua looked at herself through her almost-dead phone, hoping she looked like a 20 year old girl before opening the door. The bar was dimly lit and empty, except for an attractive lady behind the counter. She seemed to be intoxicated and was lazily stirring an iced drink with a straw until she locked eyes with Korua.

"You must be Korea!" the woman said, rosy-cheeked. "I'm...uh...Itari. I think."

"I'll just call you Itari, or at least until you sober up," the woman laughed at Korua's response, "I'm guessing that you're the owner. Hopefully Yoshimura told you all the details."

"You got it, I've got a small room upstairs. It'll probably be less 'oomph' than you'd hope for, but at least you'll be safe." Itari winked, pouring herself another drink. Part of her red hair had fallen into the glass and by the time the glass was filled, her hair had been soaked with vodka.

Korua sat herself down at a bar stool in front of Itari, fiddling with an empty glass.

"Hey, you want some alcohol? It'll be our little secret~" Itari sang. Korua hesitated before pushing the glass towards Itari who laughed and filled up the glass. Korua tentatively lifted up the glass to her lips, barely swallowing the bitter vodka and feeling her throat close up.

"How do you drink this _crap?"_ Korua spat. Itari just chuckled in return, about to reply until the door opened. Two people came walking and Korua glanced over at Itari who was suddenly standing straight, easily passing as sober. One was a tall and muscular man, every single part of him preplanned and paid attention to. The other, a boy, or at least Korua assumed. They were the opposite of the first, about as colorful as a circus clown and only reaching to the first man's shoulders. The only two similarities they had were the gray briefcases they held.

"What can I do for you two?" the redhead said, articulated. Clearly she was experienced in dealing with Doves. Korua kept her head down, taking another sip of the vodka and regretting it immediately after.

"I'll get a Bloody Mary and this guy'll get," the taller man said, waiting for the other Dove to order.

"I mean, I'm underage so...unless Shinohara _wants_ me to drink. Eh, boss you want me to drink a litte? Huh, huh?" the boy said, elbowing his partner. He turned back to Itari while completely ignoring Korua. "I'll just have a cider. I don't really care what kind."

Itari nonchalantly poured the cider and asked while mixing the Blood Mary, "So what brings two Doves to a place like this. Shouldn't you guys be patrolling? I want to feel safe, y'know." Korua chuckled quietly, understanding the irony in that statement.

"Trust us, you are safe from _any_ ghouls. We've got patrols walking every block and I would be more concerned for the people in the _20th_." the man called Shinohara said. Korua tensed up next to the two chatters and saw the white-haired boy glance at her from the corner of her eye.

"I see. Well, I guess everyone deserves a break once in a while." Itari returned to her own drink, slowly trailing her finger up and down the glass. Clearly neither of them wanted to drink their problems away at the moment.

"Uh, you're pretty young-looking," the white-haired boy said, strangely eyeing Korua, "Why you in a place like this?"

Maybe it was habit, maybe it was the alcohol. Korua lied, "Oh, my parents were being… bad parents-er I guess you could say, bad, but it's just, not good. I came here 'cause I know the bartender." Itari smiled enough to see her sparkling teeth and Korua wondered how anybody who ate humans could look so good. Both men were eyeing her suspiciously and Korua returned to her drink before they could make eye contact.

Hopefully her disheveled look would give herself an appearance of a stereotypical girl running away from a stereotypical family to a stereotypical bar. Korua's hair was messily tied up into a bun, parts of her hair slowly coming undone.

"Anyways!" Itari said, trying to draw the Dove's attention away from the increasingly-stressed Korua.

The rest of the hour was spent getting both of the Doves (or at least the one who could legally drink) tipsy. The younger one just kept suspiciously glancing at Korua. The boy's eyes made Korua nervous and she could feel the nerves in her hands jump. Finally the two men left, but not before Korua had dozed off in her seat, laying her head on the countertop.

"Get up!" Itari shouted into Korua's ear. The rosyness in Itari's cheeks and she had started to ramble about how "flacking studs" Korua was.

"Where should I unpack?" Korua muttered after the bartender had finished. The two of them stumbled up the stairs (clearly Korua wasn't a strong drinker) and Itari opened the door to a dark room.

Korua flinched when Itari turned on the blinding light. The room was larger than she expected, being able to fit a mat on the floor with roughly 10 square feet to spare. An empty clothes rack was attached to the wall and a small chain hung from the lightbulb coming out of the ceiling.

Itari left for a minute before coming back with several blankets and pillows. Korua fell into the mat, forgetting to take off her coat and the redhead turned off the light silently before leaving the room.

"Oh, shit. I didn't even ask the girl if she was old enough to drink…" Korua heard the bartender say from the other side of the door. "Ah, fuck it! I don't care."

*AH I'M SORRY I'M REALLY BAD AT THE WHOLE SCHEDULE THING. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I know it was kind of slow but I wanted to start bringing Okashina and Korua's worlds together slowly. Hopefully things will start coming at a faster pace now that this is out of the way. Again, if there are any mistakes in my writing or advice you want to give I'll happily take them. I know I'm not the best of writers, but I hope that I'm getting better.


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